The First War
by EvieRobb
Summary: What happened during the first reign of Voldemort? How did he change the lives of those he tormented? How did he give rise to those who would one day stand against him? Read and you'll find out.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: The only thing that I own is the plot, and possibly a few of the characters. Everything else belongs to the wonderful JKR )

"Death Eaters! T-there are Death Eaters coming!" Yelled a short brown haired boy before he fell to the ground with a flash of green.

"Oh god! Run!" Shouted a tall boy with red hair, grabbing the hand of a dark haired girl and ducking under a flash of light. The command was hardly necessary, the teenagers who had been occupying the street where running in every direction.

"We've got to get back!" Called a blonde boy. "Someone one get professor!"

"Quick get inside, everyone hurry get into a building!" Shouted girl running for a door with candy in the window, followed closely by several shorter children.

"Avada Kedavra." Said a stocky figure in a black robe and mask laughing slightly as a skinny brown haired girl dropped in a flash of green light. "Filthy mudblood. Come out, come out little kiddies. There's no Dumbledore here to protect you now." He said to the now deserted street of Hogsmead.

In the alleyway between two buildings two teenagers were crouched down behind several trash cans. "Merlin, we've got to do something. They're going to start going into the stores, everyone'll be trapped in there." Whispered a red haired girl.

The black haired boy nodded gravely. "I think they've already killed…"

He broke off as the teens heard a loud crash from the mouth of the alley, both tried to press themselves into the wall. "I know someone's in back here. If you come out it'll be quick I promise." Giggled a woman's voice. "If not, well, I suppose more fun for me then."

_Get Dumbledore_ mouthed the boy. The girl shook her head furiously, "I won't go back without you." She hissed.

The boy took a deep breath and waved his wand; a ghostly white stag erupted from the end. "Tell Dumbledore there's Death Eaters. Hurry!" He whispered.

"There you are. Crucio!" The boy plummeted to the ground and screamed.

"The girl jumped up, wand raised, "Petrificus Totalus!" She yelled, the black clad figure suddenly froze and fell back. "James, James, are you alright?" She asked helping the boy off the ground.

"Been better, let's go before they find us Lily." He murmured. Both teens snuck behind the building and stopped for a moment. "You can still go back, go find a teacher."

Lily raised an eyebrow, "I am not leaving you here alone."

"Had to try."

"Yeah, any chance you'll go?" She asked. It was the boy's turn to raise an eyebrow, "Didn't think so. Okay, so what do we do?"

James closed his eyes and took a deep breath; there was more screaming coming from the street. "We're going to have to sneak around and try to take them by surprise."

Lily nodded, then taking a deep breath of her own pulled his head down to hers and pressed her lips roughly to his. "Just in case, er, you know." She said solemnly.

"Everything's going to be fine, I promise." His voice shook at the end, and they both knew he lied.

They both put their backs to the wall and crept along the side; James poked his head around the corner, "Alright, Lil, on the count of three. Just stop them however you can, all we have to do is hold them off until Dumbledore gets here. One, two, three."

Both jumped out and shouted, "Stupefy!" At the same time. Two black robed figures fell to the ground. The other six turned surprised, and began to send spells back.

It wasn't long before James and Lily had been separated, "Crucio!" Lily fell screaming to the ground.

"Stupefy!" Shouted a red haired boy, while the dark haired girl he had saved helped Lily to her feet.

"Okay?" She asked.

"Fine, Gideon go help James, he's surrounded by four of them." Lily said desperately.

"On it."

"Lookie, lookie, what do I have here?" Said the woman who had cornered Lily and James in the alley. "It's the mudblood and her filthy half-blood friend." Then without giving the girls a chance to respond she waved her wand. The girls went flying through the air. Lily hit the brick wall to The Three Broomsticks, as she fought to keep conscious she saw her friend raise her wand to the Death Eater, and then nothing as the blackness overtook her.

She woke to the sound of a cold, high pitched laughter. "They're all down Potter, all your little friends. Dead most likely." The voice said dismissively. Lily glanced out of the corner of her eye and saw that both Gideon and Dorcas where lying on the ground. Dorcas in what looked horribly like a pool of blood. "I'll give you a choice: join me or die like the reset of them."

"No, never." James said, defiantly raising his chin. "You'll have to kill me." Lily saw that he was bleeding profusely from a gash on his arm, and his nose looked to be broken.

"You had your chance, say hello to all of your little friends," the high voice said. Lily raised her wand and had a wooden trash can floating slightly in the air, she used her wand to move it in front of James at the same time the voice said, "Avada Kedavra." The trash can exploded and she saw James fall before passing out again.

"Lily, Merlin Lily, you've got to wake up. Please." James pleaded. Lily's eyes fluttered, "Oh thank Merlin. Wake up baby, come on."

"James!" Lily cried bolting upright and hugging him. "Uh, definitely should not have done that." She said closing her eyes, paling.

"Yeah, you've got a concussion. They didn't want to do anything until you were awake." James replied.

"Lovely. Oh god, Gideon, Dorcas? Are they alright? What about everyone else, is everyone okay?" Lily asked in a rush, her eyes darting around.

James looked into Lily's eyes, the tears he was fighting still managing to leak out. "Gideon and Dorcas are fine, but, Merlin Lily, Emily; they got her with Avada Kedavra."

"No." Lily moaned. "How bad? How many others?" Lily asked tears already streaming down her face.

"It's bad Lil, at least six dead; I don't know how many hurt, a lot." He replied.

"I need, I need to see James."

"Alright, here, I'll help you up."

The sight of the usually cheery Hogsmead stole her breath. The street was covered in glass and tinged horribly red, the buildings themselves had missing bricks, and large black craters in the walls. There were students crying in groups looking around helplessly. Teachers with bleak looks on their faces were leading students back up to the school.

In the middle of the street Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore spoke in hushed tones, both looking grave. "I think that's the last." Professor McGonagall said in a choked voice gesturing to the seven bodies that now lined the street.

Lily sobbed, there, in the middle was a once pretty girl with brown hair. "Emily."

A/N: Review and let me know what you think.


	2. Chapter 1

_I believe in humanity. We are an incredible species. We're still just a child creature, we're still being nasty to each other. And all children go through those phases. We're growing up, we're moving into adolescence now. When we grow up - man, we're going to be something! Gene Rodenberry  
_

_I know that every good and excellent thing in the world stands moment by moment on the razor-edge of danger and must be fought for... Thornton Wilder_

**Chapter 1**

_Two years before…_

"Quills down please!" Squeaked Professor Flitwick. "That means you too, Stebbins! Please remain seated while I collect your parchment! Accio!"

More than a hundred rolls of parchment zoomed into the air and into Professor Flitwick's outstretched arms, knocking him backward off his feet. Several people laughed. A couple of students at the front desks got up, took hold of Professor Flitwick beneath the elbows, and lifted him onto his feet again.

"Thank you… thank you," panted Professor Flitwick. "Very well, everybody, you're free to go!"

"We're done with Defense Against the Dark Arts! We're done with Defense Against the Dark Arts! We're done with Defense Against the Dark Arts!" A small, slightly chubby girl sang, her brown eyes sparkling.

"Thank you captain obvious." Said the brown haired girl next to her, however, this did not dissuade the first girl from her singing. It did, however, inspire her to do a little dance along with it. "Alice Abbot, you stop that this minute." She giggled, the three girls walking with them joined in.

"Yes mummy. If you say so." Alice responded sticking out her tongue.

"Emily, Alice, if you two keep this up I'm going to have to separate you." Said the only blonde walking with them, amusement evident in her voice.

"I've a better idea Marlie." Commented a dark haired girl. "Just sick Lily on them, _she's_ the prefect."

"Oh, shove off, Dorcas." Said the redhead smiling. "Come on let's go sit by the lake. We can relax a bit before we have to study for transfiguration."

"Aw, Lily, why'd you have to go and do that. I was perfectly content doing my end of Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. dance, and now you had to go and remind me that we've still got more. That's just not right." Alice pouted.

"Come off it Alice, you know you're going to do amazing on it." Emily said.

"Yeah, well, I still don't want to have to study for transfiguration." Alice responded sitting at the edge of the lake.

"So, Marlie, how do you think you did on it?" Asked Dorcas, her deep blue eyes twinkling.

"Not bad, how 'bout the rest of you. Well not Lily, we all know that she got an O."

"Marlene Cornfoot, shush, you'll jinx it."

"Guys can we not talk about it, it makes me a little nauseous." Emily said pressing a hand to her stomach. "Let's talk about something a little more pleasant, like the fact that Marlie's birthday is in a few days."

"Sixteen, woohoo! I can't wait until next year when we can finally use magic. My mum would kill me if she caught me doing any magic before then." There was a general murmur of agreement.

"You don't know how lucky you guys are. At least you guys can get away with doing magic when your parents aren't around. Em and I can't even do that since we're the only witches in our families." Lily started. "The Ministry _really_ doesn't like it when you do underage magic." She finished with a giggle.

Alice raised an eyebrow, "What did you do?"

"I may have _accidentally_, of course, turned my sister's tea cup into a rat." Lily answered green eyes twinkling mischievously. "Anyway, I got a lovely owl from the ministry about not using anymore magic until I turned of age or else I'd be expelled from Hogwarts.

"And, still Dumbledore made you prefect. My god, what a rebel you are Lily Evans." Giggled Marlie.

"Shove off."

"I can't wait to be seventeen. It's not fair, Sirius Black turns seventeen at the end of September, and James Potter on Halloween. I want to be able to do magic by Christmas." Complained Dorcas.

"Don't forget Gideon Prewitt'll turn seventeen at the end of December. So that's three of the boys who'll turn seventeen before any of us." Emily added.

"Speaking of the boys, say Lily do you think that you'll admit it now?" Alice asked.

"Admit what?"

"That you are absolutely head over heels in love with James."

Lily gaped at her, "I am not head over heels in anything with James Potter."

Marlie raised her eyebrows, "Really, cause last night I could have sworn I heard someone mumbling in their sleep about how unbelievably good looking, talented, witty, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, James is."

Lily blushed a deep crimson, while the other girls laughed. "Okay, I never said that I didn't like him." She mumbled. "He's just such a bloody prick sometimes. I won't ever go out with someone who treats other people like that, not ever."

"So, now that we're on the subject of talking in ones sleep, Alice I heard you mumbling pretty, er, interesting things that you wanted to do with Frank." Emily said, nodding slightly at Lily's thankful look.

Alice's blush was dark enough to rival Lily's. "Oh, well, that's just not right." Laughed Dorcas.

"Impedimenta!" Came a shout.

"Hey, what's going on over there? Under the beech tree." Alice asked desperate to change the subject.

"Is that Snape? Gross, I bet that didn't taste good." Emily said.

"Lily? Lily where are you going?" Alice called. "Well shit. She's gone to murder James and Sirius."

"Leave him ALONE!"

James and Sirius looked around. James's free hand jumped to his hair.

"All right, Evans?" Said James, and the tone of his voice was suddenly pleasant, deeper, more mature.

"Leave him alone," Lily repeated. She was looking at James with every sign of great dislike. "What's he done to you?"

"Well," said James, appearing to deliberate the point, "it's more the fact that he _exists_, if you know what I mean…"

Many of the surrounding watchers laughed, Sirius and Peter included, but Remus, apparently intent on his book, didn't, and neither did Lily.

"You think you're funny," she said coldly. "But you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him _alone_."

"I will if you go out with me, Evans," said James quickly. "Go on… Go out with me, and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again."

Behind him, the Impediment Jinx was wearing off. Snape was beginning to inch toward his fallen wand, spitting out soapsuds as he crawled.

"I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid." Said Lily.

"Bad luck, Prongs," said Sirius briskly, turning back to Snape. "OY!"

But it was too late; Snape had directed his wand straight at James; there was a flash of light and a gash appeared on the side of James's face, spattering his robes with blood. James whirled about; a second flash of light later, Snape was hanging upside down in the air, his robes falling over his head to reveal skinny, pallid legs and a pair of graying underpants.

Many people in the small crowd watching cheered. Sirius, James, and Peter roared with laughter.

Lily, whose furious expression had twitched for an instant as though she was going to smile, said, "Let him down!"

"Certainly," said James and he jerked his wand upward. Snape fell into a crumpled heap on the ground. Disentangling himself from his robes, he got quickly to his feet, wand up, but Sirius said, "Locomotor mortis!" And Snape keeled over again at once, rigid as a board.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Lily shouted. She had her own wand out now. James and Sirius eyed it warily.

"Ah, Evans, don't make me hex you," said James earnestly.

"Take the curse off him, then!"

James sighed deeply, then turned to Snape and muttered the countercurse.

"There you go," he said, as Snape struggled to his feet again, "you're lucky Evans was here, Snivellus-"

"I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!"

Lily blinked. "Fine," she said coolly. "I won't bother in the future. And I'd wash your pants if I were you, _Snivellus_."

"Apologize to Evans!" James roared at Snape, his wand pointed threateningly at him.

"I don't want _you_ to make him apologize," Lily shouted, rounding on James. "You're as bad as he is…"

"What?" Yelped James. "I'd NEVER call you a – you-know-what!"

"Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you've just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down the corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can- I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK,"

She turned on her heel and hurried away.

"Evans!" James shouted after her, "Hey, EVANS!"

But she didn't look back.

"What is it with her?" Said James, trying and failing to look as though this was a throwaway question of no real importance to him.

"Reading between the lines, I'd say she thinks you're a bit conceited, mate," said Sirius.

"Right," said James, who looked furious now, "right-"

There was another flash of light, and Snape was once again hanging upside down in the air.

"Who wants to see me take off Snivelly's pants?"

"Think we should go after Lily or stay for the show?" Dorcas whispered.

"She's going to be supremely pissed for a while, let's let her cool down for…" Marlie cringed. "Oh, that's not pretty."

"My eyes!" Cried Emily. "Oh god, my eyes. I'm traumatized for life. Quick someone give me something sharp I need to gouge out my eyes." Several people laughed. Sirius and James sent her appreciative grins. "Please! It doesn't even have to be sharp, anything."

"It's no use you'll never get that image out of your head. And just think do you want one of the last things you ever see to be Snape without his pants?" Alice asked.

"I think I need a shower." Dorcas said as the girls trudged back to the castle. "I feel a kinda dirty. And when I say 'kinda' I mean incredibly."

They found Lily pacing their dorm. "Er, Lily?" Alice asked.

"What?" She snapped.

"Christ, don't take out James, Sirius, and Snape's assholiness on us. We've been through enough. I'm pretty sure that I'm scared for life." Emily muttered flopping down on her bed and pulling the pillow tight over her face.

"What's up with you four?" Lily asked looking at them strangely.

"Shower, desperately need a shower." Dorcas muttered.

"Lily, please tell me the password to the prefects bathroom." Marlie pleaded.

"Hey no fair, I feel dirty too. I want to shower in the prefect's bathroom." Alice muttered.

"Called it. So how about it Lil."

"No, why do you all need showers? And why is Emily trying to smother herself?"

"I can't, I just can't bring myself to talk about it." Alice replied.

"Don't look at me." Marlie said when Lily turned to her, "I don't want to think about it anymore than she does."

"Will someone tell me what the hell is going on?" Lily demanded.

"James took off Snape's pants, Lily." Emily muttered from under her pillow.

Lily's eyes bugged out, and she muttered "Wanker."

"Exactly." Emily said sitting up and pointing at Lily. "And there it was, all hanging out there, and… oh god, I think I need to go throw up now." She said and ran for the door as Dorcas opened it. "HA HA HA! I got the bathroom; shower time for Emily St. John."

"Hey! That's shit Emily!" Alice pounded on the door. "Open up the damn door."

"What a jerkweed." Marlie muttered. "What?" She asked when the other girls looked at her.

"Jerkweed? What are you, like seven?" Lily asked giggling.

"It's the best insult ever; think about it, there's no comeback for it. Lily you're a jerkweed." Lily just shook her head, "See! I told you!" Marlie said dancing around the room.

"Why am I friends with the lot of you?"

"'Cause we are the most amazing people in all of Hogwarts." Dorcas answered.

"There is that." Lily agreed.

"And we know how to get you out of your James Potter induced tempers." Alice added.

* * *

"Please promise me you'll be careful, all of you." Emily said to the group of fifth year Gryffindors surrounding her on the train platform, giving them each a hug before walking over to a tall brown haired woman. 

They all nodded, "We will be. I think I'd safer at home though." The redheaded Gideon said to the rest. "I'm staying with my sister and brother-in-law this holiday."

"What's so bad about that mate?" Remus asked, brushing his dirty blonde hair out of his blue eyes.

"You mean besides the fact that they've got a five year old, a three year old, and that she's pregnant again; the baby's due at the end of the holiday."

"Ha, well you enjoy that Gideon." Sirius said.

"Shut it you."

"I think that Em was referring to more frightening matters than a pregnant woman and a couple of toddlers." Lily said dryly.

"You never met my sister Lily; she's a bit scary when she's emotional. Anyway, there she is. You all be careful." Gideon said losing the joking tone of his voice. "Oy, Molly over here." He didn't dare say 'see you in September', none of them did, they didn't want to tempt fate.

"There's my mum, Sirius. Come on lets go." James said. "Bye guys." He clapped Remus and Peter on the shoulder, and hugged the girls except Lily. "Er, bye Evans." Sirius did the same, though he included Lily on the hugs.

"Er, bye Potter." Lily said, then after a second, she jogged up to him and gave him a quick hug, "Be safe."

"You too. Come on Sirius, mum's waiting."

"There's Tommy, be safe." Marlie said, and then walked up to a man that looked like male version of her and kissed him on the cheek. "It's good to see you."

"Oy, there's my mum, and there's your dad Remus." Peter said pointing. "Bye." He mumbled.

"Bye girls." Remus said giving them each a hug.

"So, just me and you now Lil."

Lily looked at Alice, "Yeah it seems so." She said warily.

"So, what was that hug with James all about?" Alice asked

Lily rolled her eyes, "It's nothing, just because I don't particularly, like him," Alice raised her eyebrows, "even if I do _like_ him, like him. I don't want him to die. Anyway, there's my mum and dad, and oh joy they've brought Petunia along for the ride."

"They brought your sister; I've never seen your sister." Alice craned her neck, "Whoa, I wouldn't have guessed the two of you were related."

Lily grinned, "That's the best compliment I think I've had in a long time."

"Does that include the time that James declared that he didn't care if you were all of the teacher's favorite, and that he still loved you anyway?"

"Bite me. Are your parents here yet?"

"Nah, but my dad's pretty forgetful. I swear he'd lose his head if it wasn't attached."

"Hold on one second mum." Lily said turning away from her mother, "Do you want me to wait around with you until he shows?"

"Don't worry about it; either he or mum will be here soon."

"You sure?"

"Yes, Merlin Lily, you're annoying. Go home, annoy your sister. Give her a biting tea cup."

"I don't have any biting tea cups."

"I might have slipped one into your trunk before we left Hogwarts."

Lily grinned, gave Alice a hug, "Thanks. Be careful, will you. It's not safe to be wondering around by yourself."

"Oh look, here's my dad now," Alice pointed to a man with the same round race that she had, "bye mummy."

Lily said the first thing that came to mind, "Jerkweed." Both girls erupted in laughter.

"Jerkweed, Lily?"

"Er, it's an inside joke mum. It's good to see you; I've missed you all so much."

* * *

Lily woke up the morning of August 7 just like it was any other. She quickly made her bed, _no house elves here_ she thought, as she had every day of the summer holiday. She took a shower, made sure to stay in the bathroom a little longer than necessary just to annoy her sister, as she did every morning. She got dressed quickly, dried her hair, counting the days until February 28, or was it March 1? (She couldn't decide since she didn't _technically_ have a birthday this year. She'd have to ask Dumbledore about that. Though she supposed it wouldn't matter as she would be at Hogwarts at the time.) _Stupid leap year_, she thought, like she did every morning. She paid the owl that delivered the _Daily Prophet_, like she did every morning. And like every morning she sat down on her bed to read it before going down to breakfast. 

The picture on front page wasn't any different from usual, really. It was the usual Death Eater attacks, though this one seemed to be a bit more involved than others. However, this morning the headline caught her attention like never before.

**  
Worst Death Eater Attack Thus Far**

In the worst Death Eater Attack to date, the followers of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named have attacked nearly three dozen homes, half a dozen of those belonging wizards. Among those to have lost their lives are members of the Abbot, Abercrombie, Perkins, Pettigrew, Lupin, and Zeller families. The surviving members of said families declined to comment.

Lily threw down the paper, eyes full of tears. Searching frantically for parchment she wrote a quick letter to the first person she thought of who would know if her friends were okay, James Potter.

**James,**

**I just read about the attacks in the paper, are they alright? Do you know? Please, I don't have any other way of contacting them.**

**Lily**

She rolled the parchment up and tied it to the leg of her owl, Hamlet, whispered an urgent, "Please hurry." Lily then shoved the paper under her mattress, where her parents wouldn't find it, and took a deep breath. Lily closed her eyes and prepared herself to face her family.

It took five days before Hamlet returned with an answer.

_Lily,_

_They're all okay. Remus and Peter are both staying with me, the Death Eaters got their dads. Peter's dad was a muggle, but since his mum married him they wanted to punish her, ruddy bastards. It was Alice's whole family, her mum, dad, even her older sister Sarah who was visiting. Alice was out with Frank when it happened, thank Merlin. Apparently the Death Eater's were still there when Frank brought Alice home, he got help right away. It's the first thing they learn as trainee aurors. I asked my mum and dad and the details are a little sketchy, but I think she's staying with Frank and his mum._

_James_

It was only after reading this that Lily felt the horrible weight that had been sitting on her shoulders the past few days lift. She spent the last two and a half weeks of her summer holiday skimming the paper for names of those she recognized. When she spotted them, it never failed to ignite two major emotions: sorrow and anger.

* * *

September 1st came all too slowly for Lily. She wanted desperately to be back in the safety of Hogwarts. She didn't want to keep searching the paper for her friends, though she knew she would continue her ritual at school to watch for names of those who had already graduated. 

At the entrance to platform 9 ¾ Lily hugged her parents, said a silent thank you to whoever was listening that Petunia had gone out with her 'boyfriend'. Lily personally thought that this Vernon Dursley was a complete and utter wanker, but that was just her opinion. If her dad happened to agree with her, well, that was their little secret.

She managed to get her trunk on the train with the help of a blonde Ravenclaw boy in her year, whose name she couldn't remember. With a hurried "Thanks." Lily set off to find her friends. She found them all, except James and Sirius, in a compartment near the back of the train. She kissed Remus and Peter's checks and gave Alice a hug, keeping her arms around the other girl, resting her head on Alice's shoulder,"I'm so sorry."

Alice sobbed; Remus and Peter just nodded, though both their eyes teared. "I have to go to the Prefect meeting, but I'll be back later." When Remus got up and made to follow her she gave him a questioning look.

"Prefect meeting, I'm prefect too Lily. I have to be there too."

"Don't worry about it, stay here, I'll tell you what you missed."

"Thanks."

"Whatever I can do. You too Alice, Peter." And with that she walked out the compartment door and straight into someone else.

She would have fallen to the floor if it hadn't been for the strong arms that gripped her waist. "Sorry Lily. I wasn't watching where I was going."

Lily looked up into the face of James Potter. "No, it's my fault. Thanks for catching me." _Since when did I have to look up like that to James Potter? He was barely taller than me in June._

"Your welcome. See you after the prefect meeting."

"Hey, Evans." Sirius said following James into the compartment and sitting down.

Lily blinked, and then continued up the train to the prefect's compartment. _Huh._ Lily thought. _Since when did James Potter call her Lily? And not ask her out the first time he saw her the new school year? Or not make some sort of comment about catching her and how great he was? He didn't even hang on to me longer than was needed. _

A/N: Review, let me know what you think :-)


	3. Chapter 2

socal4ever: I'm glad that you like the story so far:-D … And to clear up the confusion, the prologue takes place in their seventh year, and the first chapter starts at the end of their fifth.

A/N: And to anyone wondering what the hell was going on in the prologue, or what happened after, not to worry, all of your questions should, hopefully, be answered…. You just have to wait until they get into their seventh year. :) So now on with Chapter Two…. Enjoy!

_But Oh! The blessing it is to have a friend to whom one can speak fearless on any subject; with whom one's deepest as well as one's most foolish thoughts come out simply and safely. Oh, the comfort - the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person - having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away. -Dinah Maria Mulock Craik_

_Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts. -Arnold Bennett  
_

**Chapter Two**

Lily pulled open the door of the Prefect's compartment, looked around, and sat near the other Gryffindor Prefects. She smiled at the Head Boy, a Ravenclaw with green eyes and blonde hair, named Jason Fitzgerald, and the Hufflepuff Head Girl, whose name she thought might be Alicia.

Jason looked around, "Now, let's see, we're still missing the Slytherin seventh years and, it looks like our other sixth year Gryffindor."

"I told Remus not to come. I'll tell him whatever he misses." Lily said.

The Head Girl's eyes narrowed, "Why would you do that? He's a Prefect too; if he doesn't want to attend I'm sure Dumbledore could find another one."

Lily's own eyes narrowed dangerously, and she felt a burning in her belly, something that generally indicated that she was about to blow up. Before she could say anything Jason interrupted. He and Lily had been friendly for several years and he knew the signs of a temper in the making. "Louisa." He said sharply. "It's Remus _Lupin._"

_Louisa, Alicia, close enough._ "I told Remus not to come because he wasn't up to the meeting. I do suppose you've seen the paper and know what happened a few weeks ago. That is assuming you can read."

Louisa's hands fisted, "How da… wait, Lupin?"

"Yes, Lupin. Now, if you've finished trying to impress us all with your amazing powers as Head Girl, could you please get on with the meeting? Some of us care about others, and would rather spend time not flaunting our badges."

"Lily, knock it off. Louisa had every right to be annoyed when she didn't realize." Jason reprimanded. Lily shrugged in response.

"Interesting, isn't it, Evans?" A boy with long black hair and brown eyes said. "That of all the families that, _tragically_, lost members, three of them were sixth year Gryffindors? Tells me something, the Dark Lord isn't going to stand for people sullying the name of wizard with blood-traitors, and all of you mudbloods."

Lily glanced over, and was mildly surprised to see Sirius' little brother. "Clearly you and your _Dark Lord_," she spit out sarcastically, "have different ideas than I do about what sullying means. Because from where I'm sitting following the word of a masochistic, homicidal maniac better fits that definition."

"And yet, none of my friend's families have been attacked."

"I wonder why."

"Enough, both of you." Louisa shouted. "If I hear another word out of either of you, especially you, Regulus, there are going to be problems. Now those of you who were Prefects last year know the rules."

"Or you should." Jason said glancing at the Slytherins.

"Right, so, patrol the corridors every hour or two, and our first meeting will be on next Thursday, you all can go. I want the fifth years to stay, however, so we can go over those rules."

Lily got up and left the compartment without looking back. She got about ten steps outside the door before she stopped and kicked the wall. "What's the wall ever done to you?"

"Jesus, Black, you scared the life out of me." Lily gasped. "I'm glad I ran into you; I wanted to tell you something before you found out from someone else. Your brother's been made Prefect."

Sirius stopped, "Wonderful." He muttered. "I bet mother was just so proud."

"Oh, she was." Said Regulus from behind them. "Said I was carrying on the noble tradition of our family members being made Prefect." He stopped for a second, "Well, the ones that matter anyway."

Sirius grabbed for his wand, but Lily got to hers first. He gaped at her as she sent a curse at his brother and had him stumbling back. "Now the rest of you go back to your compartments before I do something really nasty." She snarled to the small circle that had formed and stormed down the corridor.

"Evans, you just hexed my brother."

"No shit, Sherlock."

"No shit, who?"

"Never mind, it's a muggle thing. We're you trying to make a point?"

Sirius opened the door to their compartment, "I was actually, before you started talking about trying to shit on someone."

Everyone in the compartment stopped talking and gawked at Sirius, "Lily tried to take a shit on someone?" Marlie asked confused.

"What? No! I did not try to take a shit on someone!" Lily said.

"Then what the hell is he talking about?" Gideon asked.

"He said something obvious, so I said 'No shit, Sherlock.'"

Emily, Dorcas, and Peter laughed. "What, what's a Sherlock?" James asked looking at the rest of his friends; they all looked as bewildered as he felt.

"Ha, ha, ha, it's a muggle expression. Sherlock was a detective who had a penchant for saying things that were obvious." Dorcas explained.

"Oh, I needed that." Peter mumbled.

"Right then." Alice said. "So what was it that you said?" She asked looking at Sirius.

"Oh, right, I forgot with all this talk of shitting on people." Lily rolled her eyes. "Evans hexed my brother, with, what was that, a Bat Bogey Hex?" Lily nodded.

Marlie blinked, "You hexed someone? Seriously?"

Lily nodded, "And it felt good too, bloody berk."

"Er, Lily, won't you get in trouble?" Remus asked.

"Nope, school hasn't started yet has it?"

"Evans, I think I'm in love with you." Sirius said.

"Well, I suppose I should go patrol the corridors." Lily said not paying attention to Sirius. "After all I did royally piss off our new Head Girl. I wonder how she got the position, from what I've heard it's more likely that the boys picked her rather than Dumbledore."

Gideon choked and Emily sprayed the water she was drinking all over the window, "What's gotten into her?" Marlie asked patting Gideon on the back.

"Guys, I'll be right back." James said and bolted for the door. "Lily, hey Lily, wait up."

Lily stopped and turned around with an eyebrow raised, "Can I help you with something?"

"No, I just thought that since Remus isn't going to be patrolling that I'd go with you."

Lily narrowed her eyes, "You want to patrol with me, Potter?"

"It's not safe until we're in Hogwarts. Plus if you hexed Regulus Black the other Slytherins are going to be pissed. It's better that you're not by yourself."

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I don't need a big, strong, man to protect little, ole me."

"Not saying that you do. It's not safe to be wondering around by yourself, and you know it. There are Death Eaters in school Lily, I heard my parents talking. So, whether or not you like it, until we get to Hogwarts I'm going to patrol with you."

Lily raised her eyebrow, but didn't argue any further. For the next twenty minutes James and Lily patrolled the corridor in relative silence. Lily glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, _I wonder if he's ill._ Before she could ponder it anymore six fifth and sixth year Slytherins, Regulus (now back to normal), and Snape among them, stepped out of one of the compartments.

"Well, well, well, Evans, hexing people on the train? Not really your style is it? Decide to take a page out of Potter's book, have you?" Snape said nastily. "Keep it up and I might just have to take points off."

"Don't be daft, Snape. You know as well as I do that you can't take points off of me without the approval of one of the Head Students or a professor, we're both Prefects. And besides, the term hasn't started yet." Lily replied waving a hand dismissively.

"True, but we can take points from Potter. _He's_ not a Prefect; even the mudblood loving Dumbledore wouldn't make him a Prefect." Regulus spit.

Lily watched a muscle in James' cheek twitch as he clenched his jaw, saw his hand dip inside his robes and pull out his wand. Hoping to avoid a duel with all six of the Slytherins Lily interjected, "Be that as it may, Black, the term hasn't started yet. And if you want to keep that Prefects badge I wouldn't walk around taking points off people just because you don't like them. I'm sure mummy dearest wouldn't like to have her little boy lose his Prefect status, now would she."

"Shut up about my mum, you're not even fit to speak of her, you filthy mudblood."

Again James' cheek twitched, but he said nothing. "Not your usual _courageous_ self without your friends are you, Potter?" Snape gloated. "Or is it that you just can't stand the fact that, for once, it's you that's outnumbered. Perhaps we should teach the two of you a lesson."

"And how do you think Slughorn will take it when it gets back to him that the lot of you has been cursing us for no apparent reason? Lily's one of his favorites. Isn't she Snape? You've always been jealous that not even you can top her in potions."

"Going to go running to a professor, Potter? Not what I'd expect from you, but, as we all know, you're nothing without your little fan group with you." Snape said.

James grabbed Lily's arm, "You're pathetic." He said to Snape, "Lily, come on lets go. I think that your patrol's over."

"Yeah, alright." When they got to the door of their compartment Lily stopped him. "You didn't hex him, or, er, any of them. Why not?"

"They're not worth it."

Lily stared for a moment, "That's it? They're not worth it? What happened to you?"

James shrugged and walked into the compartment. "Coming?"

Throughout the feast Lily tried to put James Potter's strange behavior out of her head, but as she sat waiting for her friends to finish eating she noticed how subdued he was. _Sirius too, well as subdued as Sirius could be_, now that she thought about it, _all of the Marauder's really, but Remus and Peter I understand._ "What's with James and Sirius?" She whispered to Emily.

Emily who had been eyeing a fudge brownie glanced over. "Dunno, I didn't read anything about their families in the paper. They probably knew Remus and Peter's dads." Then nodding to the brownies, "Do you think I should go for it?"

"I guess that makes sense. And didn't you already have a brownie?" She asked.

"Yeah, but it was good."

"You'll be sick." Dorcas said reaching for a brownie of her own.

"Hey! I wanted that one! Didn't you already have one too?"

Dorcas shrugged, "Yeah I did, but _I_ won't get sick off it. Besides, this one, now this one is the best. All nice and chocolaty and gooey and delicious."

"You suck."

"Mmm, mmmm, mmmmmm" Dorcas said licking chocolate off one of her fingers. "So, good."

"I hate you." Emily said darkly.

"But, Em, she has to get her practice in somewhere." Marlie added taking a sip of pumpkin juice. Dorcas shot her a dirty look.

"You asked for that one Dorcas." Lily said laughing.

She shrugged, "Guess so. Here, Em, you want the rest." She asked giving Emily half the brownie.

Emily brightened, "Yeah! I take it back, you don't suck."

"I don't know, it sure sounded like she does to me." Lily said.

"Bite me, you're just cranky 'cause you didn't have a brownie."

"You guys make me sick." Alice said shaking her head. "All I have to do is look at food and I gain weight." She said getting up and walking out of the Great Hall.

The other four looked at each other; Alice had lost a lot of weight in the last couple of weeks. Emily sighed, tossed her beloved brownie to Peter, "Hey Peter, have the rest of my brownie. Come on guys let's go catch up to her.

"Why can't I have the rest of your brownie?" Sirius called.

"Because you don't need any brownies." Marlie called back.

"Hey! I resent that." Then looking at Peter, "Wormtail, give me some of the brownie."

"No, it's mine!" Peter said shoving it all into his mouth at once. "Ah mwine!" He said through the brownie.

"That's gross Wormtail."

"You would have done the same, Sirius." Gideon said.

Sirius thought about it for a second, "Yeah, probably." Remus shook his head.

"Guys, I'm going up to bed. I'll see you later." James said getting up.

"What's with him? He's not acting normal." Gideon asked.

"You know his parents right?" Sirius asked, when Gideon nodded he continued, "Well, then you know that they're kinda old. Mr. Potter got pretty sick this summer, nearly died. James hasn't really gotten over it."

* * *

"Allie, you in here?" Lily called out when the girls reached their dorm. 

They got a muffled sob as an answer. "Oh, sweetie." Marlie said. The four girls climbed onto Alice's bed, something not nearly as easy as it once was.

"It's going to be okay." Dorcas said patting Alice's back.

"I c, c, can't eat, or s, s, sleep, or a, anything. Every time I close my eyes I s, s, see th, them that n, night." Alice said trembling, tears streaming down her face. "I, I, I keep thinking wa, what would've hap, happened if I hadn't b, b, b, been out with F, Frank. If I hadn't g, g, gone out that night, I wo, would have been th, there. My mu, mu, mum, s, s, she didn't want me to g, go. S, s, said I was spending to m, much time with F, Frank as it wa, wa, was. Bu, but I went an, anyway and we were m, m, mad at ea, each other. And n, n, now I'll never g, g, get to s, s, say I'm s, s, sorry. I should ha, have been there. I sh, should be d, d, dead, like the rest of my f, f, family."

"Honey, no, you shouldn't be dead." Marlie said rubbing Alice's arm. "There's a reason that you survived. I know that it doesn't seem like it, but someone has a plan for you, something that doesn't include dying at sixteen." Alice only sobbed harder.

"It'll be alright Alice. It's going to get better." Emily said softly rubbing Alice's hair.

"I hate him. I hate all of them." Alice said suddenly with so much passion that the other girls stared, not knowing how to respond.

"You should." Lily said slowly. "You should hate them for taking your family, but, Allie, you can't let it take over. And you can't not take care of yourself like this. You've got to start eating and sleeping."

"I see them, lying there, every time I close my eyes."

"I still have some sleeping draught left, you can have it. And I'll make you some more tomorrow. That way you'll be able to sleep and not have any dreams." Lily said rummaging through her trunk.

"Why do have a sleeping draught?"

"I made some at the end of last term, in case I wasn't able to fall asleep over the summer." Lily answered dismissively and handed a vile of purple liquid to Alice. "That should be more than enough to get you through the night.

"Thanks you guys." Alice said tearing up again.

"That's what we're here for Alice. If you want to talk again, whenever, just come to one of us. We're here for each other." Marlie said.

"She's right. We're not just pretty faces you know." Emily added.

"Or hot bodies." Dorcas said.

"There you go." Lily said nodding at Dorcas and Emily as Alice gave a watery laugh. "Now, go change and take that potion."

* * *

Breakfast the next morning was hectic for the sixth year Gryffindors, to say the least. "Evans." McGonagall said after she sent Marlie off to Ancient Runes. 

"Yes, professor."

"I was very pleased with your O.W.L. results, transfiguration in particular."

"Thank you." Lily said momentarily taken aback.

"Now, you still want to be an auror?"

"Yes."

"I see you have all the O.W.L.'s that you'll need. Do you wish to continue with any other classes?"

"Er, no thank you, just the five'll do it."

McGonagall's lips twitched for a moment as she tapped a piece of parchment with her wand, "Very well, off to potions with you. Lupin."

Lily wrinkled her nose as she joined the queue outside the potions classroom; it smelled like someone had set off a dungbomb. "I heard that only three Slytherins made it, three Ravenclaws, one Hufflepuff, and five, I think, of us." Alice whispered to Lily.

"Is that why they're looking at us like that?"

"No, that's because Sirius threw a dungbomb at them."

"Well, I guess that's why it smells down here."

"Merlin, what's the matter with you Sirius, why would you set that off down here." James muttered as he came walking down the corridor with Dorcas.

Sirius sent him a dirty look, "Like you wouldn't have done it."

"No, I wouldn't have. We're nearly seventeen, we're supposed to grow up mate, not still act like we're twelve."

"Now, now, boys, no fighting. Everyone come in, I'm going to introduce you to N.E.W.T. level potions." Professor Slughorn said, poking his head outside the classroom. "No more than four to a table."

James sat down at the one closest to the door, Sirius, brooding, stormed over to the table the Ravenclaws were sitting at and sat down. Lily, Alice, and Dorcas joined James, which left the one Hufflepuff to sit with the Slytherins.

"Right, now everyone, I've several potions on my desk. Who can tell me what the first one is."

They all looked at the clear potion in the cauldron and several hands went into the air. Dorcas watched as Lily's hand shot into the air and smiled, she turned to say something to James about it. Her eyes went wide when she saw that his hand too, was in the air. She kicked Alice under the table, nodded her head to James when Alice gave her a dirty look, and watched as her mouth dropped open.

Even Professor Slughorn seemed somewhat surprised, "James was first, so Mr. Potter, what do I have in the cauldron?"

"That's veritaserum. It's the most powerful truth serum available."

"Very good, ten points I'd say, to Gryffindor. I must say I'm impressed Mr. Potter. Very impressed indeed. Who can tell me what is in this second cauldron?"

A/N: Tell me it sucks, or that it's wonderful (which I'd rather prefer.), but let me know how you think it's going. ;-)


	4. Chapter 3

socal4ever: There's a very specific reason that James has done a 180 all of a sudden, you'll find out some of the reason in this chapter and the rest a little later on. I hadn't realized Sirius was comming off as an idiot... but he's going to be in it a lot more in the next few chapters, and, hopefully, he's not going to seem like such an indiot. :)

_Perhaps I know why it is man alone who laughs: He alone suffers so deeply that he had to invent laughter. - Friedrich Nietzsche_

_Games are a compromise between intimacy and keeping intimacy away. -Eric Berne_

**Chapter Three**

After potions they all trudged up to lunch. "What's his problem?" Marlie asked as Sirius slammed his stuff on the Gryffindor table.

"He and James had a row." Dorcas answered.

"Don't worry about it. James has been acting different lately. It's going to take Sirius a while to catch up to him." Remus murmured.

"Huh." Lily said, not taking her eyes off of James. "What do we have after lunch?"

"Double transfiguration." Gideon answered.

"Oh, dandy." Emily muttered. "I don't know how I managed an E on that O.W.L."

"Makes you happy you didn't get the E doesn't it Peter." Dorcas said when she had finished. "Come one let's head up to Arithmancy."

"See you guys later." He mumbled.

Lily, who had finished ahead of her friends and was idly flipping through her copy of _Advanced Potions_, jumped when James finished his food, roughly grabbed his bag and stormed out of the Great Hall. Sirius glared at his retreating back, "Bullocks." He muttered, as he pushed his plate of food, "Anyone want to head over to class with me."

"I'm done; I'll head over with you." Remus said.

"Yeah, we'd all better head over. We wouldn't want to be late for McGonagall on the first day of classes; she'd be tempted to kill us all." Gideon said.

"Hold up a second, I have to put my book back." Lily called.

Marlie waved the rest on, "Go ahead, I'll wait. You know Lil, if you didn't read textbooks at lunch in the first place you wouldn't have this problem."

"I've seen you pour over a textbook at the table a time or two."

"Only on days with exams, as is natural. You, my dear, are quite the odd one."

Lily shrugged, "I like potions."

"I like Ancient Runes, doesn't mean I like to spend my free time rolling in them."

"I don't, nor have I ever, _rolled_ in a potion."

"There was that time in third year," Marlie started.

"Er, Lily." Both girls stopped, and looked around. "One of you left this on the table." A blonde Ravenclaw boy said.

"Oh, it's mine. Thanks…" Marlie said.

"Ryan, Ryan McKinnon."

"Thanks Ryan. McGonagall would've killed me if I forgot the book"

"No problem, she does have a tendency to get rather, er, shirty, when you forget something doesn't she? Lily, could you do me a favor, and tell her that I had to see Flitwick, so I'll be a little late."

"Yeah, sure."

"Thanks. Oh, and Jason wanted me to tell you or Remus that the Prefect's meeting is going to be on Friday instead of Thursday. Something about Quidditch tryouts in Hufflepuff. See you guys later."

Marlie watched him walk down the hall, "So he's pretty gorgeous looking isn't he."

"Ryan?" Lily looked back. "I never really thought about it, but yeah I guess he is. And I did not roll in that potion in third year, I was doused in it, which caused me to slip and fall to the ground."

"Close enough. Of course you never thought about Ryan though, you spend all your time thinking about a certain black haired Gryffindor."

"Ryan who?" Emily asked as they sat down.

"McKinnon. He just brought me a book that I left at lunch. He's rather nice to look at, especially from the back."

"Marlie, we wear robes, how can you see anything from the back?" Alice asked.

"Oh, I've a good imagination." Marlie replied with a wicked grin. "But our Lily here, she's severely deprived. Can't keep her head off a certain someone and doesn't even notice any other good looking guys."

"Bite me." Lily said sharply and proceeded to stare out the window.

Emily who was sitting between Gideon and Remus laughed quietly and jabbed Gideon with her wand. "Hey, what was that for?"

"Look at Lily and James." She said pointing to James, who was sitting behind Lily and looking out the window, brooding, just as she was.

"They're so alike sometimes it's disgusting." He replied laughing.

"Quiet down." Professor McGonagall said as she stepped into the classroom looking quickly around. "Where's McKinnon?"

"He had to see Professor Flitwick about something." Lily responded. James looked over at Lily; jealousy flashing quickly in his eyes.

Lily tuned out for most of the class, McGonagall wasn't teaching anything new, just saying how they were going to be using non-verbal spells in class from now on. A sudden jostling had Lily jumping. "What's going on?" She whispered to Marlie.

"McGonagall told us to partner up and practice non-verbal spells." She replied and, well, Lily wouldn't have exactly called it skipping, pranced over to Ryan McKinnon. "Want to be partners?"

Lily shook her head and glanced around with her brow furrowed, it seemed that everyone was paired up already, everyone except, "Sorry Lily. I know you'd rather be with Emily or someone."

She looked behind her at the sullen face of James Potter and shrugged as she got up to sit next to him. "Are you alright? You've been acting odd since yesterday."

"It's not like you care." He spit harshly. Lily blinked, and watched as James pulled his glasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Listen, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you."

"No, it's fine. I should've minded my own business." Lily replied oddly hurt.

"No, it's not. You were trying to be nice, and I bit your head off. I'm sorry for that. I've just been in a foul mood."

Lily studied him for a second, "Have you been put under the imperius curse?"

James stared at her for a good thirty seconds before bursting into a fit of laughter.

"What is so funny, Potter?" McGonagall asked as people turned to stare at the pair of them.

"I… she… ha, ha, ha." James sputtered.

"Evans, what is the meaning of this?"

"Er…" But Lily was at a loss for words.

"Ha, ha, t, t, tickle. Can't breathe." James moaned through laughs. "Oh, Merlin it hurts. Ha, ha, ha." Several people snickered, Lily felt he own lips twitch into a smile.

"Tickle?" McGonagall asked perplexed. Then unexpectedly she smiled, "Evans did you do a tickling charm?"

"Er, sure."

"I've never seen anyone take to non-verbal spells so quickly, well done. And, ten points to Gryffindor. Alright, everyone, carry on."

Lily looked to her right, James had his eyes glasses off again, and he was rubbing his face. "Thanks Lily, I needed that." He said eyes still closed. Then he shook his head, "Woo, my side hurts."

"So, I'll take that as a no then." Lily said, dimples winking.

James grinned, his own dimples showing, "Yeah, that's a no."

"Okay then. So, now that McGonagall thinks that I'm a genius, do you think we could practice?"

"Alright everyone, that's enough, practice non-verbal spells for homework, we are going to be starting conjuring next time."

"See you later." Lily said to James, grabbing her bag, but forgetting her quill.

"Bye. Hey, Sirius, wait a second, I need to talk to you."

"So, Lily, how did you manage to get the non-verbal thing so quickly?" Alice asked.

"Er, just lucky I guess." Lily mumbled, "Fuck, I left my quill. I'll see you guys back in the common room."

"You want me to wait for you?" Emily asked.

"Nah, I'll just be a second."

Lily was walking back when she heard, "Listen Padfoot, I'm sorry; I've been a real prat today." _This probably isn't something they'll want me to hear._ Lily thought looking around for somewhere to hide herself. She jumped behind the statue of Alberic Grunnion in the alcove next to her.

"Yeah, you have." Sirius responded and turned to walk away.

"Hey! Listen," James said grabbing his arm. "You remember how sick my dad was this summer?"

"It's not something I'll forget anytime soon Prongs."

"Yeah." James mumbled, "But, you remember those few days that we thought he wasn't going to make it?" Sirius nodded. "Well, I was talking to him one night. He told me that it was time for me to grow up. Said that all the joking and pranking and everything was fine when I was younger, but that I was almost a man now, and I still acted like a child." Sirius opened his mouth to say something, but James cut him off, "You know the worst part? He blamed himself, told me that he and mum didn't discipline me enough, let me get away with too much as a kid. They were just so happy that they had me at all that they didn't really think beyond that."

"Prongs, you're not a bad guy. Sure you fool around; we all do, but it's nothing really."

James continued as if he hadn't heard, "It got me thinking about that thing with Snape and Lily at the end of last term. I told my mum about it, I left our names out of it to see what she really thought of it. She said that she was disappointed that I hadn't done anything to stop it, and that she would like to meet the girl who did, said she sounded like a good person. When I asked her what she thought about the kids hexing Snape, she said that they were nothing but bullies."

"Prongs."

"No, she was right, wasn't she. If we hadn't been the ones doing it, we would have seen it." James said. "So, I decided to change, that I'm not going keep doing those things. I don't want my parents to die thinking I'm a disappointment." He said viciously.

Lily heard his voice catch at the end and felt her own eyes tear.

* * *

The morning of Halloween Lily shot out of sleep and bolted straight up in bed. It took her a few moments to realize that Peeves was floating next to her, blowing cold air in her ear. "What'd you do that for?" She asked annoyed. Peeves just cackled and left the room. _Great, I'll never get back to sleep now_. She thought looking at her watch and rolling her eyes, _only two more hours until I actually need to be up_.

Deciding it was a better idea to just get up; Lily gathered her stuff and took a quick shower. She still had an hour after she was done getting ready, so she grabbed some parchment and a quill and headed to the common room to write a letter to her parents.

Stepping off the stairs she noticed someone staring into the fire, squinting through the early morning light she could just make out a head of messy black hair. "Hey Lily, you're up early."

Lily raised her eyebrows, walked over and sat across from James, "How'd you know it was me?"

James grinned, "Magic. So how come you're up and ready at five thirty this morning?"

"Peeves." She said darkly. "He was blowing in my ear; there was no going back to sleep after that. I swear one day I'm going to find a way to get him back for all the shit he does."

"Yeah, Peeves is pretty much a dick like that."

"So, why are you up this early? I got the impression that you guys rolled out of bed at the last possible moment."

"Usually." James said amused, and then the smile faded. "It's my birthday today."

"Okay." Lily said slowly, "Why does that bother you?"

"It doesn't." Lily raised an eyebrow. "It's not my birthday, it's that I'm seventeen now. I'm an adult, and all people know me as is a, what did you call me last term, a bullying toerag. I haven't done anything important."

Lily felt guilt swim in her stomach, "That's not true." James gave her a look that clearly said, 'Yeah, right.' "It's not. You've been different this year, haven't bullied anyone. And besides people know you as the Gryffindor Quidditch captain, which by the way is something to be proud of. You did a good job putting a team together this year. We really flattened Hufflepuff yesterday."

"You called me a toerag." James reminded her. "I know being captain this year is something to be proud of, but I didn't win the match on my own, the whole team is really talented."

"You were being a toerag that day." Lily replied, "But, you haven't been this year. And we're all only sixteen, seventeen years old; none of us have done anything important."

"You have," Lily shook her head, her eyes wide in surprise, "yes you have. You're at the top of the year, you're a Prefect, you stand up for what you believe in, you…"

"Okay, I see what you're getting at." Lily said embarrassed. "None of those things are really important in life though. It's mostly just doing well in school; there are other things that are more important, I great many, I expect. Besides if you want to talk about being at the top of our year as important, take a look at yourself. You're at the top of our year too, and I heard that you got one more O.W.L. than I did."

"Lily, there you are. I was wondering where you had gone off too." Emily called from behind them. "Here, I brought your bag down. Everyone else said they'd meet us at breakfast."

"Thanks. I'll see you later Potter." Lily said shoving the parchment and quill into her bag. "Oh, and happy birthday." She said as she climbed out of the portrait hole.

"Oh, hey, that's right, happy birthday James." Emily called. "How's it feel to be seventeen?"

"A lot better than it did before."

"What?"

"Nevermind. I'll see you later."

Later that night Lily sat at a table in the common room trying to write an essay for transfiguration. _Stupid transfiguration, who wants to conjure a stupid bird anyway_? She looked up when the portrait slammed open, Sirius, Remus, and Peter came stumbling in. "Have you been down at the feast this whole time" She asked, "That's a bit…"

"Gross?" Dorcas asked.

"Yeah, that'll do."

"Just for that, you two don't get any Butterbeer." Sirius said grinning. The three boys had their arms filled with all sorts of food, but Lily didn't see Butterbeer anywhere.

"Okay, as it doesn't look like you have any, I'm sorely disappointed."

"Oh ye of little faith." Sirius replied as Peter went to go keep the portrait open. "Have a look."

Remus was levitating several, it looked like kegs, into the common room. "Wow."

"How'd you lot manage that?" Dorcas asked. "I didn't see you come back from Hogsmead with those earlier."

"A marauder never reveals his secret." Sirius answered pulling a bottle from his robes.

"Yeah." Peter agreed nodding.

"What's that? Is that Firewhiskey?" Lily asked wide eyed. "We're not allowed to have Firewhiskey in school."

"Come off it Evans, it's for James on his _birthday_. A little drink won't kill anyone." Sirius said rolling his eyes. "But if you want to be a good little girl, go up to your dorm."

"You're such an utter berk you know that, Black." Lily said turning away from him. "Remus, you want to tell me how you guys got all this stuff?"

"Sorry Lily, no can do." Remus replied, "Do you think you could give me a hand?"

Lily shrugged, "Sure, I guess."

"Thanks, we really want to get everything done before James gets back."

"Where is he anyway? I haven't seen him since the feast ended."

"Dumbledore wanted to talk to him."

Lily remembered James and Sirius talking about how sick Mr. Potter had been. "Is everything alright?" She asked with concern.

"Dumbledore said it was; he didn't want James to worry. I don't know what it's about, I'm sure he'll tell us when he gets back."

"Hey guys, James is on his way back." Sirius said looking at a piece of parchment.

"What is that?" Dorcas asked.

"Nothing." He replied shoving it into his pocket. "Come on finish up. Don't forget to put the silencing charm on the common room; we don't want McGonagall to hear. She'll be pissed if she catches us having another party."

When James walked into the room everyone in the common room shouted, "Happy Birthday!"

"Whoa." James said grinning. "Wicked."

Two hours into the party Lily found herself on one of the balconies outside. She was shivering slightly, but it felt nice to be outside. "Hey, what are you doing out here."

She looked back; saw James walking out with a mug in his hand, "I could ask you the same question, especially since it's your party."

"I wanted to get away for a little bit, it's getting a bit stuffy in there with all the people. Oh, I never got a chance to say thanks."

Lily's brows furrowed, "For what?"

"For talking me out of my funk this morning."

Lily laughed, "Your funk. Okay. You're welcome. So how did the rest of your birthday work out?"

"Not too shabby, actually."

"That's good."

"Yeah."

They were quiet for a few minutes before Lily started to feel uncomfortable. When it became clear that James wasn't going to say anything she felt a need to fill the silence herself. Peering at him from the corner of her eye she asked, "So, what did Dumbledore want to talk to you about?"

James winced, "He told me not to tell anyone. I'm sorry."

"Don't be, if Dumbledore told you not to say anything, that should be the end of it." Lily answered rubbing the rim of her mug of Butterbeer.

"I wish Sirius was that understanding." James mumbled.

Lily wasn't sure if he was talking to himself or not, but she asked, "Why, what happened?"

"He asked about it, when I told him I couldn't say he got mad and stalked off. We've always told each other everything, he's like my brother. I think I've had more rows with him this year than in the last six combined. Ah, bugger it." He said tossing back the contents of his mug in one gulp.

Lily watched as his eyes bugged and teared behind his glasses and he coughed. "Are you okay?" She asked thumping him on the back.

He nodded, "Woo, that was the wrong mug. I wasn't expecting that to be Firewhiskey, meant to grab the one of Butterbeer. It's not nearly as good as I thought it would be; it's kinda sad really."

"Do you want a sip of my Butterbeer?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, thanks. It leaves a rather horrid aftertaste in your mouth." James said taking the offered mug.

Lily had one clear thought as their fingers brushed and tingles ran up her arm, _Oh boy_.

* * *

"So, Lily I noticed you and James seemed awfully cozy last night on the balcony." Marlie said taking a bite of toast.

Lily shrugged, "Not really, I just wanted a bit of air and he followed me out there. We just talked a bit."

"What's with the two of you lately? Last year all you did was complain about him, about how he could be so nice one minute than a complete and utter prat the next." Dorcas asked shoveling eggs into her mouth. "Now you're sending him into hysterics in class, having civil conversations with him, and you don't come back moaning about how he cornered you anymore."

"I dunno." Lily said thoughtfully. "He hasn't been doing any of those assholy things lately. He hasn't hexed anyone in the corridors, he's stopped making fun of people, and on the train the first day, Snape _provoked_ him and he walked away."

"I've noticed that. I think that everyone has." Alice said glancing at James. "So, he pretty much has kept up with all of the things you liked about him and stopped all of the things you didn't?"

"Yeah, I guess." Lily replied.

"You think he did it for you?" Dorcas asked.

"No."

"How do you, maybe he did." Emily said, confused by Lily's short answer.

As Lily shook her head, Alice said, "I don't think so either." When the other girls looked at her questioningly she continued, "Frank's mum is a healer, I heard her talking to Mr. Longbottom, Mr. Potter got really sick over the summer, and he and James are really close."

"Guys, I don't think that we should be talking about this, it's none of our business." Lily murmured.

"You're right, Evans, it's not." Sirius said from behind them. They watched as he sat down next to James, "Hey, Prongs, listen, I'm sorry mate. I was being a dick last night. I know that if Dumbledore tells you not to tell anyone that should be the end of it. I'm just used to you telling me everything."

"I know, Padfoot, I do feel bad about not telling you, you know." James said.

"Yeah, I know." Sirius replied, grabbing a stack of toast. James raised an eyebrow, "What? I'm hungry."

"Right, so, let's head down to herbology."

"Okay. So tell me what you think about this; my cousin wrote me today, wanted me to come spend some time over Christmas holiday with her and her husband and their kid."

"You're cousin wants to spend the holiday with you?" James asked confused. "Which cousin?"

"Andromeda, you remember the one who was Head Girl when we were in first year."

"The one who was in Ravenclaw?"

"Yeah, her." Sirius said. "So what do you think?"

"I dunno, I mean she always was your favorite cousin, yeah? Though, considering what you had to work with that isn't too hard, so I'd say it's up to you. Mum and dad would like you to come home for Christmas and everything, but they wouldn't mind if you went to your cousins instead."

"I don't think I'll go for the whole holiday, if I go at all. I haven't seen her since she left school. She married the Head Boy from her year, he's muggle born and you know how my family is."

"Well, you've got time to think about it anyway." James replied walking into greenhouse six.

"Oh, before Professor Sprout gets here, take a look at this." Sirius said taking a picture out of his robes, "Andromeda sent me a picture of her daughter.

"Since when do you care if the teacher's here to talk, Padfoot?" Remus asked sitting on a stool next to James.

"Yeah?" Peter said nodding sitting next to Sirius.

Sirius shrugged, "Some of these plants _eat_ people, you've got to make sure you know which ones, that means paying attention once in a while." He said indignantly. "Anyway, take a look at this kid; tell me if you see something weird." The three boys looked at the picture of a little girl with long brown hair and brown eyes, they watched as the little girl scrunched up her face and her hair changed to bubblegum pink. "See, there she goes again."

The other boys looked over Sirius's head and grinned. "What are you talking about, Padfoot? Of course she's going to move, it is a wizarding picture." Remus said.

Sirius gaped at him, "You didn't see the kid's hair turn from brown to pink?"

"Nope." Peter replied.

"You guys suck." Sirius grumbled, "Hey, girls, come here a second." He called as the girls walked into the greenhouse. "Look at this picture, tell me when you see something strange."

The girls crowded around Sirius and looked at the picture, the little girl was scrunching her face again and the long pink hair was suddenly short. Lily blinked then saw as James was motioning frantically behind Sirius. _Don't say anything_. He mouthed.

"See, there she goes again." Sirius said triumphantly.

"What are you talking about? All I see is a little girl with pink hair." Lily said.

"What? You didn't see her scrunch up her face and have her hair go all short?"

"Nope, her hair was short the whole time. Maybe you should go up to the hospital wing if you're having delusions."

Sirius stared at her like he'd never seen her before, "You're Lily Evans, you don't lie."

"Put that picture away Mr. Black, girls go find a seat, I would like to start now." Professor Sprout said slightly annoyed.

"Sorry Professor." Sirius mumbled.

* * *

Lily woke the last day before the students went home for the Christmas Holiday thinking she was in the middle of an earthquake, or, rather, what she imagined an earthquake would be like. It took her a few minutes to realize that the shaking was from the person jumping on her bed, not the earth.

"What the hell?" Lily yawned poking her head out from under the blankets. "Em, why in God's name are you jumping on my bed?"

"Finally, do you know how hard you are to wake up?" Emily asked plopping down at the end of Lily's bed.

"I was tempted to use that aguamenti charm we learned last week on you." Dorcas said. "I still think it was a good idea, you would have been up earlier and as an added bonus you wouldn't have had to take a shower."

"You're evil."

"See, now aren't you glad I was jumping on your bed?" Emily asked. "Now get your ass out of bed, we let you sleep in as it was. Marlie and Alice are already down at breakfast."

"It's a Saturday, we're going home tomorrow, why are you all up at," Lily glanced at her watch, "eight thirty in the morning? Merlin, that's just wrong."

"Lily." Dorcas whined, "it's a Hogsmead weekend."

Lily yawned again, "I'm not going. I just want to lie in bed all day." Both Dorcas and Emily looked aghast, "What? It's not like I just announced my engagement to Snape. All I said was that I wasn't going to Hogsmead."

"Don't joke about that Lily, Snape, ew. Just imagine it; if you were married you'd have to actually spend time with the git." Emily said shuddering.

"She'd have to have sex with him too." Dorcas smiled evilly when Lily paled and faked vomiting.

"Ugh, those are two words that should never be said in the same sentence: Snape and sex." Lily replied.

"Tell me about it, I still have nightmares from last June. Naked Snape is not a pretty picture." Emily said wrinkling her nose.

Lily cringed and Dorcas curled her lip, "Tell me about it. Let's never speak of that again." The others nodded.

"Anyway, back to more pressing matters, Lily, why aren't you going to Hogsmead? You do know that that we go home for the holiday tomorrow and that Christmas is in one week. You're not going to have another chance to get our Christmas presents." Dorcas said grinning.

Lily hit her with her pillow, "Git, so that's why you want me in Hogsmead; to make sure I get your Christmas gift?"

"Well, yeah. I love my presents. I'm pretty much a five year old when it comes to Christmas, you know that. I get up at dawn and everything. So, up you go, you've got presents to buy."

"I already got all of your presents." Lily said burrowing under the covers again.

"You're a lying whore." Dorcas said jumping up. "How am I supposed to see what you got me if you're not going to be there for me to spy on? Where are they?"

"Do you really think she's go…" Emily started.

"In my trunk." Lily responded yawning. Dorcas jumped up, ran to the trunk and flung it open.

"They're wrapped."

"Of course they are; do I look stupid? I know how you are when it comes to presents Dorcas. That's _why_ I got my presents on the last Hogsmead trip and why I wrapped them ages ago."

"You're mean Lily, and will probably go to hell." Lily smiled and closed her eyes. "Hey, what do we have here? This is a present for James." Dorcas said smiling manically.

"What? No way, let me see." Emily said scrambling over to Dorcas.

Lily's eyes flew open; she was blushing from her neck to the tips of her ears. "Give it back!"

"Sure, here you go." Dorcas said tossing the present over to Lily. "LILY LOVES JA… AHHHH!" She screamed, running from the red head, who had hopped out of bed.

Dorcas pulled the door to the dormitory open and flew out, Lily hot on her heels. "What the hell is going on?" A girl poking her head out of the seventh year dorms called.

"Lily's, er, going to kill Dorcas." Emily yelled back as she, too, ran down the stairs.

"DORCAS MEDOWS GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE THIS INSTANT!" Lily yelled as they got to the common room.

Dorcas ran around the couch screaming, "SHE'S PISSED, AND SHE'S GOING TO KILL ME!"

Dorcas weighed her chances and took off towards the portrait, Lily took a diving leap and would have tackled her if a pair of arms hadn't caught her. "Hey! Let me go." Lily said squirming.

"Thanks Sirius, saved my life." Dorcas said.

"No problem." He replied, looking curiously at a struggling Lily.

Lily turned her head to see Sirius Black holding her around the waist, and the rest of the sixth year boys looking at her with amusement evident on all of their faces. "You can let me go; I'm not going to kill her." Lily said with as much dignity as she could muster. Though considering her hair was a tangled mess around her face and she was clad only in pajamas with little yellow ducks with Christmas hats on, it was slightly hard to do.

Dorcas looked suddenly worried, "She lies! Don't let her go."

Lily rolled her eyes, "I swear I'm not going to kill Dorcas." Sirius let go of her slowly, ready to catch her again if she went after Dorcas. She took a few steps away, straightened out her pajamas, and pushed back her hair. When Sirius put his arms down all the way, Lily leapt, "I'M GOING TO BEAT HER BLOODY!"

Emily's mouth dropped open, "Holy crap."

"AHHHH! SHE'S CRAZY!" Dorcas said running out of the portrait hole, Lily close behind her, and Emily and the boys behind her. They got about halfway down the corridor when Dorcas nearly ran into Professors McGonagall and Slughorn.

"Meadows what is meaning of this?" McGonagall then caught sight of Lily, "Evans? Evans, please tell me why you are chasing Meadows through the corridors? And in your pajamas no less."

"Er, well she ran out of the common room." Lily said lookingaround McGonagall, to where Dorcas was now standing, making kissey faces at Lily.

Lily watched as a vein in McGonagall's forehead ticked, nearly certain that she was going to get some sort of punishment; she was shocked when she heard a laugh.

"Now, now, Minerva, I'm sure the girls were just in high spirits due to the holiday. Weren't you?" Both Lily and Dorcas, who had stopped her faces when Slughorn turned, nodded.

"There we go, just a couple of festive teenagers. Best be off then, almost time to get to Hogsmead." McGonagall turned and walked away and Lily did a silent cheer. "Now Lily, you've missed the last couple of my get togethers."

"Er, I've been awfully busy with Prefect duties, and homework, and everything." She finished lamely.

"Not to worry, not to worry, I'm having another on Christmas Eve. I trust you'll be there." He looked around, "You too, Potter, Black."

"Sorry Professor, I'm going home this holiday, I'm not going to be here."

"Ah, well, foiled again. What about you boys?"

"Sorry sir, we're going home too." Sirius answered.

"Perhaps I'll have another after the holiday, for the students that will have to miss the one on Christmas Eve. Brilliant idea Lily. Now off you all go, don't want to miss the trip now do you?" He said before waddling away.

Lily was following everyone else back to the common room when James leaned down and whispered, "Nice pajamas."

Lily blushed, "You're one to talk." She said gesturing to the green pajama bottoms with Quaffles all over them. He shrugged and waited for her to climb in to the portrait hole.

Lily flopped down on one of the chairs near the fire, watched as James sat down in the one across from her. "Not going to Hogsmead?"

"Nah, I had been planning on staying in bed all day."

"Glad to see that worked out for you."

Lily grinned, "Didn't it just. What about you, you're not going either?"

"No, it's too cold out there today; I don't really want to walk all the way down there." James rubbed his hand over his hair and saw all the first and second years staring at him and Lily. "Merlin that's creepy."

"What's creepy?"

"They're all staring at us." James said.

Lily looked around saw all the younger years looking at the both of them with wide eyes. "Wow, that's weird."

"You want a game of chess?" James asked.

"I would, but they're starting to freak me out. Do you think they're ever going to blink?"

"We can play up in my dorm if you want." Lily looked at him with an eyebrow raised, "What, come on. I'd say we could play up in your room, but you know, the whole stairs for girls, slide for boys thing."

Lily giggled, "I'll never forget when Sirius and Remus tried to get up there. But yeah, I guess, I don't want to stay here, and I'll never get back to sleep now."

They walked up the stairs and stopped at a door that said 'Sixth Years' on a golden plaque next to it. James walked in and flushed a little at the mess, there were books, pieces of parchment, quills, and clothes strewn about, including his boxers, which he tried to kick under the nearest bed so Lily wouldn't see. "Don't mind the, er, mess. The house elves don't clean in here until later. Do you have your own set of chessmen? 'Cause I have an extra if you want to borrow them."

"I do, but I don't really feel like going over to my dormitory to get them. Don't worry about the mess, it's not so bad. You should see our room in the mornings. Plus any room that's too clean is freaky, my sister's like that. Her room at home doesn't even look lived in." Lily said sitting on a bed.

"You have a sister? I didn't know that. Is she older or younger?" James asked a line forming between his brows. He turned, "How'd you know that was my bed?"

Lily picked up the picture on the nightstand as an answer; it was of James and his parents at the Quiddich World Cup when he was eight, "Cute. You have your dad's hair. Yeah, she's three years older. And there's no reason you should remember her, as she's a muggle." Lily answered.

"Huh." James said sitting down, and setting up the chess board. "What's she like?"

"Petunia? Why?"

James snorted, "Sorry, your sister's name is Petunia?"

Lily sighed, "Yeah, mum's really into flowers."

"Huh, I like hearing what it's like with having a brother or sister. I have Sirius now, and he's just as good, but I was pretty much on my own as a kid.

"I don't know, we were never best mates, but we used to get on okay when we were younger." Lily replied.

"Used to?"

"Petunia doesn't like things that aren't considered normal to muggles, magic included. So, ever since McGonagall came with my letter she thinks I'm a freak." Lily said.

"I'm sorry. Is your whole family like that?"

Lily shrugged, "No, mum and dad were, are, well, a little bewildered, really, but they're proud of me."

"That's good at least. Wait, did you say that McGonagall came to give you your letter? Mine came with an owl."

"Well, you knew about the wizarding world didn't you? She came with the letter and took me, Tommy Jones, Sarah O'Dell, and Jordan McNab to Diagon Alley for all of our stuff. They do it with all the muggle borns."

"That must have been wicked. Were you and your parents shocked?" James asked.

"It was pretty cool, I'll tell you that. To find out that all the stuff you thought was make-believe was real. But it wasn't as much of a shock as you would think. Weird things always used to happen either to or around me and we didn't know why. Professor McGonagall explained that it was magic and that most young witches and wizards have a problem controlling their powers. Which was another reason she gave to come here. Okay, shush, I have to concentrate now. I'll never win if you keep asking me questions."

"Slightly competitive, aren't you." James said amused.

Four games later, James' stomach was growling. "Okay, no more, I need to eat something."

"One more, come on, we're tied."

"Nope, I'm cutting you off." James said, "I officially declare us equal at chess. Come on lets go get something to eat."

"But we're both still in our pajamas and it's," Lily looked at her watch, "blimey, one forty five. Lunch is over."

"I'm a marauder Lily, I have my ways. Come on." James said grabbing her hand and pulling.

"Where are we going?" Lily asked

"You'll see."

"Come on tell me?"

"It's a surprise."

"Please?"

"Nope." James replied leading her through the corridors.

Five minutes went by, "How about now?"

"Ah, well, now that since you asked, no." Lily pouted. James laughed at the expression on her face. "You'll see soon enough, we're almost there." James threw his arm over her shoulder, "I like this."

"Like what?" Lily asked looking up at him.

"Spending time with you and not arguing. Our record before this wasn't so hot."

"We've been good about it this year. You haven't been a prick this year," Lily said. Then remembering the conversation she'd overheard between him and Sirius, "it's pretty amazing really, you've really grown up this year."

"Yeah?" James asked perking up. "So do you think we could keep doing this, as you know, friends?" He asked.

Lily looked at him, felt a little tug in her belly, "Yeah, I think we could keep doing this."

Read and review... you know how it goes :0)


	5. Chapter 4

_You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have truly lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love. - Henry Drummond_

_Laughter is the shortest distance between two people. - Victor Borge_

**Chapter Four**

James grinned, "So do you want to tell me where we're going, now that we're friends and all?" Lily asked.

James laughed, "You're persistent, aren't you. But we're here now."

Lily looked around, they were in the middle of a corridor, the only thing that was around was a giant painting of a bowl of fruit. "You were hungry, so you wanted to look at a huge picture of fruit?"

"Tickle the pear."

"Do what now?"

"Tickle the pear."

"Why? What's going to happen?"

"Just do it."

Lily rolled her eyes, but she lifted her arm and tickled the pear. She gasped when it giggled and turned into a door handle. "Wow."

"After you, Lily."

"Okay." Lily climbed thorough the door and looked around in amazement. "Are we in the kitchens?"

"Yeah."

"James Potter! James Potter!" Called dozens of small voices.

James grinned, "Hi, everyone, meet Lily Evans."

"Hullo Lily Evans. What can we get for yous?"

"We'll just have whatever was for lunch, we missed it." James said.

There was a mad scrambling, and a few seconds later the house elves brought tons of food over to James and Lily.

"Wow. So this is how you guys always get food." Lily said amazed.

"Yep. Do you mind if we eat this in here, Stubbins?" James asked a particularly wrinkled house elf.

"We would be honored if James Potter and his Lily Evans would eat in our kitchens." The house elf answered, snapping his fingers and conjuring a table and chairs.

James blushed, "Thanks. Er, he didn't mean anything you know."

Lily grabbed a sandwich and raised an eyebrow, "About what?"

"Oh, er, when he called you my Lily Evans." James answered looking down at his plate.

Lily laughed a little, "You're embarrassed."

"Shut up. It's just I've never, er, brought a girl here before."

It was Lily's turn to blush, "Is that some sort of line?"

"Shut up. I was being serious." James muttered. Then looking at the tomatoes he had taken off his own sandwich, he grinned and picked one up.

Lily narrowed her eyes, "Don't you dare." No sooner had the words left her mouth than a slice of tomato hit her in the face. Lily peeled it off, "Oh, this means war." She grabbed for the bowl of Jell-O that was next to her, got a handful, and threw it at James. She giggled when it hit him square in the face.

He wiped his glasses off, grinned, "I didn't know that you had it in you Lily." He picked up a squeeze bottle of ketchup aimed, and fired. Lily squealed and ran to find her own ammunition.

It wasn't long before both James and Lily were covered in food, clothes stained, their hair matted to their heads, smears of unknown substances on their faces. James had Lily cornered, his nearly empty bottle of ketchup aimed at her, "Give up yet?"

"Never." Lily replied, eyes twinkling, a bottle of chocolate sauce aimed directly at James.

James shrugged, "Well then, be prepared to face the wrath of James." He squeezed the bottle, but only air came out. "Shit."

Lily grinned, her dimples popping, squeezed her own bottle, and tried to dart around James. James made a grab for her, caught her around the waist, but unfortunately, he slipped on something slimy on the floor, and took both of them down. "Ouch." Lily giggled. "Get off me," She said pushing him lightly. "You weigh a ton."

James raised an eyebrow, "That's not nice, just for that I think I might stay just were I am." But, James got to his feet and helped Lily to hers.

"Thanks." She giggled, "You look ridiculous."

"I imagine I do, if looking at you gives any indication." Lily stuck out her tongue.

"Come on we need to get cleaned up. And Filch'll kill us if he sees us walking around like this. Do you know a shortcut to the Prefect's bathroom?" Lily asked pulling something out of her hair. "I don't even want to know what that is."

"As a matter of fact I do." James replied grabbing Lily around the waist again and tossing her over his shoulder.

"Put me down, you freak." Lily called.

"Sorry Lily, no can do, it'll be faster this way."

"How is it going to be faster if you're walking slower than normal since you're hauling me around?"

"Don't ask questions." Lily rolled her eyes.

"Just put me down, this is stupid."

"Sorry, not going to happen." James walked as fast as he could to the Prefect's bathroom, said the password and kicked the portrait open. He used his wand to turn on all the taps in the giant bath.

"There, we're here, can you put me down now? What are you doing?" Lily asked suspiciously. "You wouldn't dare."

James laughed evilly, flipped Lily so that one of his arms was under her legs and the other was behind her back. "Of course I would." With that he tossed her unceremoniously into the tub.

Lily came up sputtering and wiped the bubbles out of her eyes. "That's just not right." She said, splashing water at him. James grinned, backed up slightly, and took running leap into the tub. "You're so retarded, you know that."

"I like to think of it as special." James said splashing her.

"I bet you do." Lily responded as she splashed James back. She turned her back as they got into an all out splashing war. After about ten minutes Lily, breathless with laughter, called, "Okay, okay, I give."

James looked at her suspiciously for a moment then began to jump around, "I won! I won! I won!"

Lily shook her head, and flipped onto her back. "You know I think this bathroom is the best part about being a Prefect."

James, who had stopped his little celebration, floated next to her, "I'm going to have to agree with you. After Remus was made Prefect he came back to the dormitory to tell the rest of us all about this bathroom, we were all so jealous it was ridiculous. I think that if I hadn't been made Quidditch captain this year I was going to have to beat the password out of him."

Lily laughed, "I can't tell you how many times the girls asked me for the password last year. They've pretty much given up on it now though, they know that I'm not going to give it to them, but they still ask once in a while."

James looked at his watched and winced. "Hey, Lily, it's getting pretty late, everyone'll be back from Hogsmead soon." He said pushing himself out of the water and offering Lily a hand.

"Yeah, alright." Lily replied grabbing James' hand. "Here I'll dry us off so we don't leave a trail all the way back to the common room." No sooner had Lily dried them both off when they heard the door open. "Shit." Grabbing James' hand she tapped him on the head with her wand.

"What the hell, Lily?"

"Disillusionment Charm. Now be quiet." She said tapping her own head with the wand; she shivered as the cold sensation flowed down her body.

They watched as Snape walked into the bathroom and scowled at the mess they had made. "Probably Potter and one of his stupid ass, bimbo, fan club members. Damned Quidditch captains." He said waving his wand and drying up the water all over the place.

Lily, who had to bite her lip to keep from laughing, pulled James towards the door. Once they were out Lily took the Disillusionment Charm off of them. "So, if I'm the Potter he was talking about, does that make you one of my stupid ass, bimbo, fan club members?" James asked as they started walking towards Gryffindor Tower.

"Bite me."

"Well, if you insist."

"Pervert."

"Lily, I'm a seventeen year old guy." James said throwing an arm over her shoulder. "You can't say something like that to us; it does things to our minds."

Lily raised an eyebrow, "Really? I was under the impression that it affected a whole other part of your body."

James snickered, "Yeah, that too."

After they got back to the common room Lily turned, "James," when he turned, slightly startled, she continued, "I had a lot of fun today. A whole lot more fun than just sitting in bed or being stared at by creepy first and second years, so thanks." With that she turned back and walked up the girl's stairs.

James grinned, did a little victory dance and bounded up his own set of stairs.

* * *

"So Sirius, what made you decide to go to your cousin's after Christmas?" Emily asked.

"I haven't seen her in ages, and I want to prove to you lot that her daughter is a metamorphmagus."

They all blinked at him, "A meta what?" Dorcas asked

"A metamorphmagus." Sirius answered looking smug. "I asked McGonagall about people who could change their appearance at will."

James sighed, "Well, it's no fun now that you know what the kid is."

"HA! I knew it." Sirius shouted, then began his 'Sirius is right dance.'

The group of sixth years looked nervously around the platform when they got off the train. "Em, you're sure that your parents don't mind me coming for Christmas?" Alice asked.

"Nope, not at all." Emily replied. "Well, I guess the rest of you are meeting your parent's here?" They nodded and Emily and Alice gave them hugs, "Right then, Happy Christmas. Coming Lily?"

"Yeah I'll just be a second." She hugged all of her friends. "Be careful and Happy Christmas. Hold up a second Em, I said I'd be right there!" She called, jogging up to her friends.

Lily spotted Petunia and Vernon as soon as she crossed the barrier, but she didn't see her parents anywhere. "Oh, this can't be a good sign." She mumbled. When Emily and Alice looked at her strangely she nodded in her sister's direction, "My sister and her _boyfriend_, but I don't see my mum or dad."

"_That's_ your sister." Emily said shocked, "Wow, I'm sorry. Does she always look that pissy?"

"Only when she's looking at me." Lily replied.

"And what's with the guy's mustache?" Emily asked turning her head to the side, "Does he know that he looks a bit like a walrus?"

Lily laughed, "I don't think so, but why let him know. People won't laugh at him then." She hugged both girls, "Have a good Christmas."

"You too." They called.

"Where's mum and dad?" Lily asked her sister.

"I told them that Vernon and I would come and get you."

"Lovely." Lily muttered as Petunia and Vernon started walking away.

"I've got my stuff, no worries or anything." Lily said pushing the cart with all her stuff on it.

"Like I'd touch anything of yours from that school." Petunia said looking back. She didn't say another word until they got to the car. "I've had to tell Vernon about your _abnormality_."

"Dandy." Then turning her eyes to Vernon, "So, what do you think Vern, pretty nifty, huh?"

"Vernon." He said shortly. "It's rubbish, going off to school to learn magic tricks. If it had been my child I wouldn't have allowed it."

"Good thing that I'm not your child then, isn't it."

"Now listen, you little freak," Petunia hissed, "mum and dad might think that you're gods gift to man, but I know better, and so does Vernon. Now, Vernon's parents and sister are going to be spending Christmas at our house, so I don't want any talk of your, thing. The less people who know, the better. I don't think I could stand it if anyone knew I was related to such a freak."

"Great, promises to be a wonderful holiday." Lily muttered darkly.

Unfortunately for Lily her holiday was turning out to be worse than she had feared. Petunia had somehow convinced their parents that she was no longer disgusted by Lily, only whispering little insults and snide comments to her when their parents weren't around. Then, every time that Lily got annoyed and shouted, she looked like the bad person. After all at least Petunia was _trying_.

Lily woke Christmas morning quite happy, though not because it was Christmas, but because she'd decided that she was going to go back to school early. She'd written Dorcas about how to get back to Hogsmead without the train, and was delighted to hear about the Knight Bus. And even though Dorcas had tried to convince her to stay with her family for the remainder of the holiday, Lily decided against it; she didn't want to impose. _I don't know how I'm going to get through this summer; I can barely get through the week. Maybe someone'll let me spend part of the summer holiday with them._

She walked down the stairs to the living room, where the tree was set up, and just looked at it for a while. She smiled at an ornament that had a picture of her and Petunia on it from when Lily was seven. She had pigtails and her two front teeth were missing, Petunia was grinning, her arm tossed over Lily's shoulders.

"Good morning, darling, Happy Christmas."

Lily turned, saw the red haired man with a mug of coffee standing behind her, "Happy Christmas, daddy."

"So, what do you think kiddo, should we wake everyone up, and get on with the presents?" He asked rubbing his blue eyes.

Lily grinned, "Yeah." She sat in front of the tree and waited for her father to come down with her mother and sister.

"Happy Christmas, Lily." Her mother yawned. Her blonde hair was a mess around her face, much like Lily's actually, and she rubbed her green eyes. "Michael, I need more coffee if I'm going to be up this early." She said to her husband.

Lily smiled, her parents went through the same routine every Christmas, "Girls, your mum, just isn't a morning person."

Petunia rolled her eyes, "Can we get on with this. Vernon and his family are going to be here in a few hours, and they don't know about Lily and I'm sure she's going to get something magical." She spit out the last word.

Lily got the usual from her parents, clothes, books, and records mostly. She enjoyed the gifts from her friends a bit more. From Peter she got a bunch of candy including some Bertie Bot's Every Flavor Beans, which she was considering leaving for Petunia and Vernon. From Gideon she got a sweater that his sister had made, apparently she made them for everyone she knew, or in this case everyone her brother knew. From Emily she got a special quill for writing notes, which only let the person the note was written to read it. From Dorcas she got mood ink that changed color with the writer's mood. From Alice she got a set of biting tea cups, Lily was seriously disappointed that she wasn't able to use them this holiday. From Remus and Sirius she got a book titled, _Potions for People who Love Potions_, which had a number of very interesting potions she was dying to try. And from James she had gotten a silver framed picture of the two of them covered in food and smiling at one another. Every so often one of them would duck out of the picture and throw something at the other.

Lily sighed, she didn't really want to go back to Hogwarts when none of her friends were there, but she really couldn't stand being home with her sister anymore. Pulling her trunk down the stairs she met her mother and father. "Are you sure you can't stay for the rest of the holiday honey?" Her mother asked. "We hardly get to see you as it is."

"I know mum, but I've got to finish a really important project for Charms. I won't be able to get it done here. I'm sorry."

"Well, school does need to come first sweetheart." Her dad said. Lily smiled at him gratefully. "So, how does this bus thing work?"

"I just have to go stand outside with my wand out. It should stop for me and take me to the town right outside of school."

Mr. and Mrs. Evans hugged their daughter and watched as she stepped outside and walked to the curb. Both jumped when they saw a violently purple, triple decker bus stop in front of her. "I don't think I'll ever get used to the things that she can do." Mrs. Evans nodded her head in agreement as Lily climbed onto the bus.

"So, where are you going?" The middle aged driver asked.

"I'm going to…" Lily trailed off when she heard her name being called.

She turned to find James Potter and Sirius Black sitting with the people from the picture next to James' bed. "Lily, what are you doing here?" She watched as Mr. and Mrs. Potter exchanged a look.

"Oh, I, er, I'm going back to school." Lily answered.

"But, it's Boxing Day. Why aren't you home with your family?"

Lily flushed, "I was, but, er, my sister…"

James caught on, "Why don't you stay with us, mum and dad won't mind. Right mum, dad?"

"Oh, er, no." Mrs. Potter said, clearly shocked at her son's behavior.

All the color drained out of Lily's face, "Oh, er, I couldn't. I'm just going to go back to school."

Sirius laughed at Lily's reaction, he'd had a similar one when James had asked the Potters if he could stay with them. "Come on, Evans, there's no one at school. You'll have to be there by yourself."

Mr. Potter blinked, "Lily Evans?"

Lily looked over, clearly embarrassed, "Yes, sir."

"_The_ Lily Evans?"

"_Dad_!" James said blushing now. Lily looked at him curiously.

"We'd love to have you dear, if you don't mind spending the rest of your holiday with us. It'd be lovely to have another female in the house, I've always been outnumbered." Mrs. Potter said.

"Oh, er, alright then."

"So, where are you going kid?" The driver called from the front.

"She's with us." Sirius called back, grinning over at Lily who sat down in a chair across from him. "Thanks for the present, Evans; I didn't know that muggle pranks could be so entertaining."

"You're welcome, I really liked that book that Remus and you got me too. Thank you for the picture James, it's really nice. So where are we going?" Lily asked as Mrs. Potter waved her wand and had Lily's trunk disappearing.

"Don't worry dear, just sending it home."

"We're headed to Sirius' cousin's house." James answered.

Lily grinned, "Still going to prove that her daughter is a metamorphmagus?"

"I've already proved it." Sirius pulled out a letter from his pocket, "I wrote Andromeda to find out about the kid."

"Are you going to be spending the rest of the holiday with her or are you going to go back to the Potter's?" Lily asked.

"I thought about staying, but as I haven't seen Andy since I was a kid, I thought it best to go back home with the Potters."

"It's only because he doesn't want to spend too many nights away from my cooking." Mrs. Potter said.

"Too right, Mrs. P." Sirius agreed, "Not even the house elves at Hogwarts can compete with your cooking."

Both Mr. and Mrs. Potter smiled, "You sure do know how to suck up, don't you boy?" Mr. Potter said.

Lily smiled at the banter between James' parents and Sirius; she hadn't realized they were so close. "Thanks for the broom servicing kit, Lily."

Lily shivered; she hadn't realized James had moved his chair so close to hers, "Oh, you're welcome. I saw it, and it reminded me of you. Though I wasn't sure if I should get it or not. I know you had said you wanted the new Nimbus broom."

"I badgered mum and dad about it for a while. But it was a no go, maybe for my birthday though." James replied.

"You're birthday isn't for another ten months."

"It's never too early to start thinking about birthday presents." James said. "You mean to tell me you've never badgered your parents for months before your birthday for something?"

Lily smiled, "Not since I was turning eight. I started asking for whatever I didn't get for Christmas the next day. I desperately wanted a Barbie Doll and Sea Monkeys."

James laughed, "Sea Monkeys?"

Lily grinned, "They seemed like so much fun. They had all these ads in newspapers and such, they looked like little monkeys with fish tails, they had a whole little society, the kings wore a little crown, had little toys and everything, and I wanted my own set."

James shook his head, "So, did you get your beloved Sea Monkeys?"

"No, even though I did pull the, 'this is my first birthday I've had since I was four, and the last I'll have until I'm twelve' card. I did get the Barbie though. So, it wasn't a complete loss."

"Jimmy, Lily, this is our stop." Mrs. Potter called.

"Jimmy?" Lily asked as she and James stood up.

James blushed, "Only my mum calls me that. Or Sirius if he's being an ass."

"That's cute. Can I call you Jimmy to?" Lily asked, then darted off the Knight Bus to walk with Sirius when James growled.

"So, Jim, that's Lily Evans." Mr. Potter whispered to James. "She's very pretty."

"_Dad_."

Mr. Potter laughed as his wife knocked on a door. A pretty woman with brown hair and blue eyes opened the door; she smiled when her eyes landed on Sirius. "Sirius, hi." She hugged him tightly, "It's good to see you. Come on in."

Sirius blushed, "It's good to see you to. It's been a long time."

"Yes, it has. You must be the Potters I've heard so much about in Sirius' letters." She said smiling at Mr. and Mrs. Potter.

"You can call me Grayson."

"And please, call me Isadora."

Andromeda smiled, "Okay then, Grayson, Isadora, can I..." There was a loud crash and a giggle from the other room. "Ted, Ted, are you alright?" She called, turning.

Lily, James, and Sirius looked at each other with raised eyebrows. "Fine thanks, dear." A tall man with brown hair and eyes answered absentmindedly kissing his wife.

The little girl on his hip grinned, "Daddy tripped over the chair again."

Andromeda sighed, "You're such a klutz." She said patting his cheek affectionately, "Ted, Nymphadora, this is Grayson and Isadora Potter. Ted, you remember my cousin Sirius and his friends, James Potter, and" she squinted at Lily for a moment, "Lily Evans from Hogwarts." Lily blinked in surprise.

Ted smiled, looked at James and Sirius, "How could I forget the two of you? I spent half of my patrols chasing after the two of you." James and Sirius grinned; Lily rolled her eyes and shook her head, though she was smiling. "Ah, now I remember you." He said looking at Lily. Lily blinked in surprise. "It's the hair." He explained, "And the dimples." He added as an afterthought. "I caught you kicking Lucius Malfoy in the shin. It was bloody brilliant."

The boys looked at Lily wide eyed, "What? He called me a mudblood, I didn't know what it meant then, it was the first time someone had said that to me, but I knew it was bad. So, I kicked him in the shin."

"Huh, Lily Evans has a violent streak. Who knew?" Sirius said.

"I could have told you that." James mumbled.

"What was that Jimmy?" Lily asked sweetly. James glared at her and Sirius laughed.

After dinner Lily was sitting on the couch in the living room with Mr. Potter, who was asking her all sorts of questions about muggles. He was absolutely baffled by them and was astonished with all of the things that they used instead of magic, Lily found it adorable. As she was trying to explain television to Mr. Potter, Nymphadora climbed onto her lap. "You're pretty."

"Thanks." Lily said amused.

"I think I'll leave the two of you alone, I'm going to go tell Izzy about this ekelricity." Mr. Potter said. "Muggles, you just never know."

Lily smiled after him, she caught James' eye and grinned. "You're very pretty too." She said turning her attention back to the little girl on her lap.

She grinned, "You're hair's pretty. I can make mine look like that too, watch."

Lily watched as the girl scrunched up her face and her hair turned red, much like Lily's own shade. "That's very cool." James said sitting next to them. Lily looked over to see James looking at her, his eyes dark, and she felt that tug in her belly again.

Then Nymphadora grinned, "I'm gonna go show mummy and daddy." She said as she hopped off Lily's lap and ran to her parents.

"I bet your kids'll look something like that." James said.

"Mmm." Lily agreed, finding she was incapable of speech for a moment. _What had that look meant_? She wondered. She took a deep breath, and thought of a different subject. "So, how did you get that picture? I didn't see anyone take it."

"Stubbins. He took a picture when he saw how much fun we were having; he sent it up to me with one of the house elves that clean the tower." James said picking up her hand and drawing random patterns on the back of it.

Lily smiled, "That was nice of him. I'll have to make my way down to the kitchens to thank him."

"He'll be devoted to you for the rest of your life if you thank him." When Lily looked at him questioningly he shrugged, "House elves are funny like that."

"Huh. I might need some help getting down there again, I wasn't paying attention the whole time, and someone made it so I couldn't pay attention on the way back."

"Hey, you could have paid more attention, since I was carrying you." James interrupted smiling.

"So, since I'd be lost without someone to help me, you want to show me the way?" Lily continued as if she hadn't heard him.

James mentally did a back flip, "Yeah, sure."

From across the room Mr. and Mrs. Potter watched their son. "He's in love with her, Grayson."

Mr. Potter furrowed his brows, "How do you know? I know he's quite taken with her, and I can honestly see why after talking with her, but in love?"

Mrs. Potter smiled, "Mother's intuition. I don't think he's realized it yet, but I'm sure, that's the girl for our Jimmy."

A/N: Read, review, let me know what you think :)


	6. Chapter 5

A/N: I just wanted to let everyone know that there are a couple of sexual situations in this chapter, nothing particularly explicit, but there nonetheless. My sister and I have been stuck in our room for the best part of a week (we both have the flu) and she's been watching Sex and the City DVDs non stop. That sort of thing starts to influence you after six or seven hours. On the plus side I did get two and a half chapters written :D

_Between too early and too late, there is never more than a moment. - Franz Werfel_

_Feelings are not supposed to be logical. Dangerous is the man who has rationalized his emotions. - David Borenstein_

**Chapter Five**

Lily and James watched as Sirius said goodbye to his cousin and her family. "So, how come you guys took the Knight Bus to get here?" Lily asked.

"Well, Floo Powder is hard on my parents, so they don't like to use it."

"That makes sense, but why couldn't you all have apparated, you and Sirius are both seventeen. I would have thought that you would have gone to take your tests when you got home from school." Lily said.

James blushed, "Er, we did." He looked down, "I sort of didn't pass. I wound up about fifty kilometers south of where I was supposed to be going."

"Not enough concentration on his destination." Mr. Potter said from behind them.

Lily giggled at the look on James' face, a combination of indignation and embarrassment. Lily patted James' arm, "At least you can apparate at all, I still can't even manage to get into that bloody hoop at school."

James smiled, started walking towards the curb with his family, "I swear if that Ministry guy tells us to concentrate on the three Ds one more time."

"I'd like to tell him to shove his destination, deliberation, and whatever, up his ass. I've a few D words that I think'll do him better." Lily replied following James onto the bus.

"Deranged, disgusting, dickhead?" James asked sitting down.

Lily grinned, "Close." She admitted, "I've named him, the Ministry's detestable, dickless, delegate. Though I've a few other words that I throw in there depending on my mood."

When they got off the Knight Bus at James' house Lily gaped. "This is your house?"

"Yeah, it's been in my family for ages. Dad and his brothers grew up here, since dad's the oldest he took it over when his parents died."

"It's," But Lily was at a loss for words, "wow."

James grinned, "Thanks."

"Jimmy, dear, I've sent Lily's things up to your room." Mrs. Potter watched as her sons mouth dropped open and Lily went bright red, then she grinned, "You'll be sharing with Sirius, of course, Jimmy."

Sirius burst out laughing, "Good one Mrs. P."

Mrs. Potter smiled, "I thought so." She said smugly. "Jimmy, go show Lily up to your room. It's been a long day for everyone, and I'm sure she'd like to go to bed."

Mr. Potter watched as Lily followed James up the stairs, "That wasn't very nice." He whispered.

"No, but very entertaining."

"Sorry about that." James muttered. "Mum likes to joke around."

Lily took a deep breath, gathered up her courage, and looked at James. She noticed he looked about as embarrassed as she felt. "Don't worry about it. I guess that now I know you come by your jokiness naturally."

"Yeah, so, er, this is my room." James said opening a door. The room was large, though not overwhelmingly so. The walls, painted a dark blue, were covered in Quidditch posters, the center of the hardwood floor was covered by a deep green rug, and the queen sized bed was covered in a blue and green plaid comforter. "Sirius and I are next door, and the bathroom's down the hall."

"Okay, thanks." Then swallowing, she stood on her tip toes and placed a light kiss on James' cheek, "And thanks for letting me stay, I didn't really want to go back to school, but my sister was being horrid."

James stared down at her, his eyes dark. She watched as his Adam's apple bobbed, they were standing quite close, neither had moved back from when she had kissed his cheek, and she could feel the heat radiating from him.

Lily watched as his eyes darted to her lips then back up to her eyes, then quite suddenly James had slammed the door and roughly pressed her up against it, her hands pinned above her head. And his lips, his lips were everywhere, her neck, her shoulder, and finally her lips.

Lily moaned and then they were tearing at each others clothes on their way to his bed. And without knowing fully how it had happened Lily was lying under James, naked, on his bed. She pulled his head down to hers and kissed him as she felt him nudge her legs apart.

"Lily."

"Mmm."

"Lily?" Her eyes flew open, she was standing in the doorway to James' room, he was staring at her questioningly. "Are you okay? You sort of drifted off there for a second."

"Er," miserably embarrassed Lily did some very fast thinking, "Oh, I must be more tired than I thought."

"Yeah, it's been a long day. Well, I guess that I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight."

"Night." Lily mumbled. She closed the door quickly after James had turned around and leaned against it. "Oh, my god." She said to the empty room.

The next day Lily woke up to the most amazing smells drifting into the room from somewhere else in the house. _If that food tastes as good as it smells it's no wonder Sirius doesn't want to be away from the cooking here._ Lily thought as she found some clothes. She quickly made her was down the hall to the bathroom, took a quick shower, grinned when she realized she could get away with doing magic, and dried her hair.

She hurried down the stairs trying to find her way down to the kitchen. She stopped short when she saw James and his mother cooking what looked like pancakes, eggs, and bacon. They were working smoothly, as if they cooked together on a regular basis, and were talking softly to one another. Lily couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but she was nearly certain that she caught her own name once or twice. She looked around quickly, and deciding that she didn't want to be caught listening in on James and his mother, "Morning."

James spun around, knocking several eggs off the counter in the process, he flushed, "Morning."

Mrs. Potter gave her son a knowing grin, cleaned up the mess he had made with a wave of her wand, and said, "Good morning, dear. Why don't you go sit down, James and I were just about finished."

Lily sat on a stool by the counter, "I didn't know that you could cook."

Mrs. Potter smiled to herself, "Jimmy helps me cook whenever he's home. It was a chore to get him to help when he was younger, but he's grown to like it. Haven't you dear?" James, who by this time was beet red, mumbled something unintelligible. "Why don't you sit down too, I can finish up the rest by myself."

"Are you sure, mum?" James asked. Mrs. Potter waved her hand at him in response.

"Aw, who would have guessed, Jimmy Potter's a mama's boy." Lily laughed.

"Shut up." James mumbled.

"Don't worry; it'll be our little secret." Lily said. "Besides I think it's cute." James grinned down at his plate of food, "Anyway, where's your dad and Sirius?"

"Sirius apparated over to Remus' earlier, his mum wasn't feeling well, and dad," James glanced at his mother out of the corner of his eye, "had a meeting, he won't be back until tonight."

"I'm going to be heading out myself in a moment, Jimmy; I'm a little late for my appointment."

"Okay, mum." He stood up, kissed his mother on the cheek, "I'll see you later."

"Bye, Jimmy." Mrs. Potter said, then disapparated.

Lily watched the two of them with a small smile, she ruffled his hair when he sat back down, "You're really very adorable; you know that?" She set her fork down, "Is Remus' mum alright, she gets sick quite often, doesn't she?"

"Yeah, she's okay; she just gets sick a lot is all." James replied, and oddly enough it _was_ Remus' mother who was sick this time. The full moon wasn't for another week and a half. Lily furrowed her brow. "So, what do you want to do today?" He asked desperate to get her attention away from Remus, he didn't want Lily paying too much attention to when Remus usually went missing.

A picture of her daydream from the night before flashed in her mind, and she flushed slightly, "I dunno. It's your house, so you can decide." She got up started to bring her plate over to the sink.

"Lily, you don't have to do that you know. I can clean it up with magic, it'll be quicker."

"What?" Lily asked, "Oh, force of habit I guess."

James waved his wand and all of the dirty dishes were clean and floating towards their designated spots in the cabinets. "Do you want to go ice skating?"

"Ice skating?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, there's a pond down in the village, I haven't been in ages. It'll be fun."

"Alright."

"Cool, you might have to pay, muggle money confuses me." James said rummaging through a drawer in the kitchen, "I wasn't particularly good in Muggle Studies."

"I didn't know that you took Muggle Studies." Lily said as James pulled some muggle money out.

"There we go. Yeah, mum and dad thought it would be a good idea. You talked to my dad, he's fascinated by muggles, and my mum thought it'd be a good idea for me to learn how other people live."

"Huh."

"What?" James asked.

Lily shook her head, "You learn something new everyday. I'm going to go grab my coat, I'll be right back." James watched her retreating back very confused.

"So, how are we getting down to this pond?" Lily asked stepping out of the house.

"We're going to have to walk I'm afraid. I somehow don't think that it'd be good for the two of us to fly down there on brooms."

Lily laughed, "No, I don't suppose it would be." They walked companionably for a few minutes before Lily spoke again. "You know when I was a kid I thought that witches had green skin, warts, and controlled flying monkeys." Then when James just looked at her added, "Or, if they were good witches, they looked like princesses."

"What's with your weird childhood obsession with monkeys?" He asked.

"What?"

"First I find out that you desperately wanted Sea Monkeys and now I find out that you thought that witches, well bad witches, controlled flying monkeys. Though I really don't know where you came up with that one. It's very strange, to say the least."

Lily pouted slightly, "I didn't have an obsession with monkeys. I wanted Sea Monkeys because the ads in the newspapers looked like fun. And the flying monkey thing is from a movie that's practically a requirement to see when you're a kid."

"What movie?" James asked.

"'The Wizard of Oz.'" Lily responded, "And the bad witch, the one with the green skin and warts, controlled flying monkeys, the good witch looked like a princess."

"Huh, so how did the good witch beat the bad one?" Lily looked up at him, "What? Of course the good witch is going to win."

Lily smiled, decided to make it simple and not go into the whole movie, and said, "Well, someone threw a bucket of water on her."

"A bucket of water?" James said confused.

"Yep, and she turned into a smoking pile of black robes, all while saying 'I'm melting, I'm melting.'"

"That sounds like a very strange movie." James said shaking his head.

Lily grinned, "You have no idea."

James led her to the pond, gave her the money, "We have to go rent skates and such, and I don't want to cause a scene with the money."

Lily shrugged, "Okay." They walked up to the counter with all of the ice skates told the clerk their sizes.

The elderly clerk slapped the skates on the counter, looked at James, "That'll be six pounds." When Lily stuck a hand into her pocket to pull the money out the clerk narrowed her eyes. "_You're_ paying."

Lily looked at her surprised, "Yes."

The clerk shook her head, "Kids these days, just plain disrespectful. Now, in my day it would have been unheard of for a boy to make a girl pay when on a date."

James, looking embarrassed, grabbed the skates and went to find somewhere to sit down to put them on. Lily threw the money on the counter, "Yes, well, in your day it was quite alright for a man to hit a woman without being disrespectful, so excuse me if I don't take you particularly seriously." With that she turned on her heel and walked over to James. "What a miserable old cow."

James laughed, "Come on let's go ice skating."

It wasn't long before James realized that he was way out of his league when it came to ice skating. He was having trouble keeping himself from falling on his ass, while Lily skated gracefully around him. "How are you doing that?" He asked in amazement.

Lily grinned, "I took lessons for years before I started Hogwarts. Here come on, I'll help you." She skated in front of him, turned so that she was skating backwards and grabbed his hands. "Okay, first, stop looking down."

"Where am I supposed to look?"

She rolled her eyes, "Look at me." She smiled when his eyes met hers, "Good, now instead of trying to walk on the ice, glide. Push off with your foot, don't try to step down with it."

"Alright." James sounded skeptical, but he did as he was told. "Hey, I'm skating and not falling on my face."

Lily laughed, "Do you think you could try it on your own?"

James grinned at her, "I dunno if I'm ready. Maybe you should still hold on to one of my hands."

Lily rolled her eyes again, "I have this funny feeling that you're lying." But, she grabbed James' hand.

James was in heaven, he looked at Lily out of the corner of his eyes, and was ecstatic that he chose to go ice skating. Lily looked to be having the time of her life, her eyes were bright, her cheeks and nose pink. He was so preoccupied with Lily that he didn't notice the young teenage boy dart out in front of him. He let go of Lily's hand and tried to stop, but they hadn't gone over that part, so he wound up turning right into Lily. His hands flew out, grabbed her hips in a vain attempt to steady himself, but it was no use, even as he saw her eyes widen in surprise he could feel his feet going out from under him.

He wound up on his ass, Lily lying on top of him laughing hysterically. A couple of people stopped to see if they were okay, and as Lily seemed incapable of speaking, he waved them off. "I'm glad you think this is so funny."

"Oh, I do." Lily said taking a deep breath. "Come on, let's get up." Lily untangled herself from James, and got to her feet fairly quickly. James on the other hand had quite the difficult time of it.

Finally, out of breath, he managed to get himself to his feet. Lily was shaking and biting her lip to keep from laughing. "Okay, next time, we do something that I'm good at, and I can laugh while you make a fool of yourself, hopefully in front of lots of people."

Lily burst out laughing, looked up at James her eyes twinkling, "It's a deal." Just then the boy that had caused James to fall came skating by, and nudged Lily. She let out a startled, "Oh." Before grabbing on to James' neck, his arms automatically went around her waist. She pulled her head back, but didn't let go of him, "Thanks for catching me." She said breathily.

James looked down at her, "Any time." He had just started to lean down to her when he heard someone call their names. He groaned, "What are you doing here, Sirius?"

Sirius looked from Lily to James and back, "Am I interrupting anything?"

"No." The both said quickly, telling Sirius that he had, indeed, interrupted. "You're mum saw your note and sent me down to get the two of you. It's almost time for dinner."

* * *

The rest of the holiday had passed quickly for Lily, she was thankful that she had run into Sirius and the Potters on the Knight Bus. _I don't know what I would have done if I was stuck at Hogwarts by myself_. She looked around at the Great Hall and sighed, she wasn't quite ready to be back to school.

"What's up with you?" Marlie asked.

Lily shrugged, "I wish the holiday hadn't gone by so quickly."

"Tell me about it." Dorcas agreed. "It's always so depressing coming back here the first day. Though we do get tomorrow off which is a plus. I haven't done my potion's homework yet."

Emily laughed, "If it makes you feel better I haven't done my transfiguration homework yet."

Dorcas looked thoughtful for a second, "Yeah, it does. McGonagall is a lot stricter than Slughorn. She'd be more apt to kill you."

Emily shrugged, "I'll manage something before class on Thursday."'

"Hey, look, there's Ryan." Marlie whispered. The girls all glanced quickly over to the Ravenclaw table.

"He's coming over here." Alice murmured.

"Hey." Ryan said walking over to them. "How was your holiday?"

They all mumbled "Good."

"Marlie, you want to go for a walk?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll see you guys later."

"I've never seen her so into one guy before." Alice said thoughtfully. "Normally she gets bored in a month or two."

"Maybe he has something those other guys didn't." Emily replied.

"Yeah, like big…" Dorcas started.

"Dorcas Meadows, so help me god if you finish that sentence." Lily interrupted grinning.

"Hands, I was going to say hands." Dorcas laughed. "Is it my fault that someone's mind drifted so easily to naughty things?" Lily's eyes went blurry as her mind drifted to her daydream for a second, "Oh, my god, it did, didn't it."

"Oh, shove off." Lily said pushing Dorcas.

"So, have you guys heard the one about a guy being as big as the tip of his index finger to the base of his thumb?" Emily asked.

"Huh." Dorcas said looking, as Emily and Lily were, at Alice.

"Why are you all looking at me for?" Alice asked.

"You're the only one here who's had sex before." Emily replied.

"So, index finger to thumb or no?" Dorcas asked a very red faced Alice, while holding up her own hand.

"It's not true." Lily shivered at the voice in her ear. She had been looking at Alice and hadn't noticed James sit down next to her.

She turned, looked up at him and had to fight to keep her eyes from drifting to his hands, "No?"

"Nope. That's much too small." He grabbed a French fry off her plate and in doing so got the attention of the other girls.

"Is it really now?" Lily asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Yep, I could show you if wanted." Emily coughed, looked at Alice and Dorcas, she wasn't sure who was more surprised when Lily didn't hex James on the spot.

"Don't be sleazy." Lily said getting up from the table, "Besides, I don't think a demonstration is necessary, I've just eaten after all, and I'd really rather keep it down."

"I'm sure that's what he wants right now too." Dorcas murmured to Alice, both girls snickered as they followed Lily out the door.

James jogged up to them, "Hey, Lily, does that mean some other time when you haven't eaten."

Lily glanced up at him, "Maybe." She said patting his cheek. "Don't…"

But she never got a chance to finish her sentence, because James had grabbed her wrist and pulled her close to him. "I'll show you mine, if you show me yours."

Lily knew, intellectually, that it was probably one of the most distasteful and corny things a guy had ever said to her, but she just couldn't find the ability to form words at the moment. James was looking at her with something she couldn't quite place in his eyes, and it had her mouth going dry.

"James, where'd you get off to?" Sirius said coming out of the Great Hall with Remus, Peter, and Gideon. He rolled his eyes when he spotted them, "Will you two lay off for a little while?"

James dropped Lily's arm, she took a step back, "I'll see you tomorrow." He said and walked towards his friends.

Alice, Dorcas, and Emily stared at Lily wide eyed for a moment. "What the hell was that?" Dorcas asked.

"Er…" But Lily didn't know how to explain it.

Sensing Lily's discomfort Emily stepped in, "Please tell me he didn't say what I think I heard him say to you, Lil."

"What did he say?" Alice asked. Lily smiled at her; the time at Emily's house over the Christmas holiday seemed to have been good for her.

"He said, and I quote, 'I'll show you mine, if you show me yours.'" Emily answered.

Alice and Dorcas burst out laughing, "No, he didn't." Then seeing the look on Lily's face continued, "Yes, he did." That caused them all to start giggling.

"That has got to be one of the cheesiest things I've ever heard. I'm surprised you didn't kick him in those balls he was so keen on showing you Lily." Dorcas said

Lily waved her hand, "He was just being retarded."

"That wouldn't have stopped you last year." Alice said. Lily shrugged.

"Huh, well this is certainly interesting." Dorcas decided. "Come on Alice, we have to go discuss this new development."

Lily rolled her eyes, then slowed down a bit. "Em, I've got to tell you something."

"Does it have to do with James?"

"Yeah."

"I thought so. You've been acting differently with him lately, especially after your jaunt to his house."

"I fancy him."

"Well, no kidding. What am I blind?"

"No, I mean, I _really_ fancy him." Lily stopped, kicked the wall, "Bloody hell, I'm half way in love with him."

Emily watched her for a moment, "Seriously?"

"Seriously. I've always thought he was good looking, who doesn't really." Emily nodded her head in agreement, "And he was always nice to us and I liked that side of him, it was just his asshole side that kept me from ever really considering him as a boyfriend. And now he's not being an asshole. He's nice, and sweet, and thoughtful, and kind, and fun, and, and he loves his mum."

"What?" Emily asked slightly confused.

"He absolutely adores his mum. When I was at his house, you could see it just walking into the room, the bond that they have. It's adorable. Bugger it; I'm even daydreaming about him."

Emily lifted her eyebrows, "What kind of daydreams? Cute little ones, where you're married with twelve kids, or naughty ones where you…"

"Shut it." Lily said turning red, she hadn't meant to share that little bit of information.

Emily laughed, "It _was_ the naughty ones wasn't it." Lily glared at her and she sighed, "Lily, I'm your best mate, yeah?" She waited for Lily to nod, "Okay, this is what you're going to do. You're going to stop being miserable, and you're going to enjoy it. It's nice that you have something like this with everything that's going on out there. And the next time James asks you out, say yes; then go off and get married and have your twelve kids."

"What if he doesn't ask? He hasn't asked me out once this year."

"Lily, he's been in love with you for a year and a half, you're the only one who didn't notice. He's going to ask, just be patient. And if he doesn't, well, he's a coward, so ask him."

Lily smiled, hugged Emily, "Thanks."

"No problem, that's what I'm here for."

"So, twelve kids?"

"Yep, you're going to be shagging none stop, so you're going to have lots of kids, one of whom better be named after me. Anyway, after kid number twelve is born you and James'll finally learn and start using a contraception charm."

Lily laughed, "So, something good to look forward to then, lots of kids and lots of sex. Puffapod." Lily said to the Fat Lady. "And I promise that I'll name my first born girl after you." Lily said climbing the girl's staircase.

"Who said anything about girl? I think the oldest kid should be Emily. Sure he might hate you, but he'll get over it after about fifty years or so."

Remus and Sirius who were playing chess in the common room looked at one another. "Girls are very strange sometimes." Sirius said shaking his head.

Remus nodded his head in agreement, then had one of his pieces move and said, "Check."

Sirius stared down at the chess board for a minute then smiled, called for one of his bishops to move, "Checkmate."

"Well shit." Remus muttered.

* * *

Lily pulled her cloak tighter around her, she was freezing! _Stupid January Quidditch matches_. She thought darkly, not that she would miss one, especially not one that Gryffindor was playing in, even if it was freezing and the air smelled like it was going to start pouring any second. She cheered when James scored another goal; they were up by a hundred and sixty. She whished desperately for someone to catch the snitch, and as they were up by enough, she didn't care who.

She groaned as Ravenclaw scored twice on them, watched as James yelled angrily at the keeper. Unfortunately, his shouts had distracted the Gryffindor seeker as well, and by the time the girl noticed the Ravenclaw seeker chasing after the snitch Lily knew it was too late. She put her head in her hands and shook her head as the Ravenclaws cheered. "Bloody hell, we lost by ten points." Remus said wide eyed, "Ten, bloody, points."

"Well, that certainly sucks a bit doesn't it?" Alice said descending the stairs.

"At least it wasn't by a lot; we're still in the running for the cup. Thank Merlin we really flattened Hufflepuff. We just have to hope that Slytherin beats Ravenclaw." Gideon said.

"Yeah." Peter said nodding his head.

"I think that this might be a first." Marlie added. When the others looked at her questioningly she continued, "Gryffindors hoping that Slytherin wins at something."

"You're probably right." Alice agreed.

"Oy, guys!" Called a voice from behind them. They turned to see Sirius, no longer in his Qudditch robes, dash up to them. He panted a little, "Sorry, I'm a little out of breath. Lily, James wanted to know if you'd wait for him."

Lily felt her face burn, _thank Merlin it's cold enough that I can blame it on that_. "Yeah, okay. Where is he?" She asked peering around.

"Still in the locker room. I think he might be trying to drown himself in the showers."

Lily shook her head and turned back. _Boys_, she thought, _they take games way too seriously_. "James? James, are you in here?" Lily called opening the door to the locker room.

"I can't believe we lost." He was lying on the bench his arm tossed over his eyes.

Lily sat by his knees, "At least it wasn't by a lot. There's still a good chance that we can win the cup. Slytherin just has to beat Ravenclaw, and we have to beat Slytherin."

James sat up, peered at Lily for a moment, "Since when do you follow Quidditch so closely."

The words, 'Since you've been playing.' Nearly popped out of her mouth, but she recovered quickly and shrugged. "I heard Gideon telling everyone."

James nodded grabbed his school uniform, and stepped into a changing area, "It's true, Slytherin is pretty good, so I don't doubt that they'll beat Ravenclaw, but we're going to have to beat them by at least a hundred points. We'll have to wait to see how much they beat Ravenclaw by."

He stepped out, fully dressed, and was fastening his cloak around him, "Don't worry, I have faith in you." Lily said looking up at him.

James stopped what he was doing and looked at her. He placed his hand on her cheek, rubbed his thumb across her cheekbone. "Thanks."

Lily swallowed; her breath was becoming shallow, "No problem." She whispered breathily.

James sat down next to her, moved his hand slowly behind her neck. Lily's breath hitched, and she looked at James through half closed eyes; he was leaning closer, she tilted her head, closed her eyes the rest of the way.

"Potter! Potter, are you still in here?"

Lily heard James groan as her eyes flew open, James' eyes were open and on hers, he hadn't pulled back. "Yes, Professor." She shivered as she felt his breath on her lips. His eyes never left hers.

"Good, the Headmaster would like…" Professor McGonagall came around the corner, stopped short at the sight of them. "Evans? What is going on here?" She asked with narrowed eyes.

"Nothing Professor, Lily had something in her eye, I was helping her get it out." He let go of her neck, sat up straight.

McGonagall eyed them suspiciously, but as she hadn't, technically, caught them doing anything, she couldn't do anything. "Well then, if you're done." She said tartly, "The Headmaster would like to see you." She turned, but stopped before she left, "And do teach Morgan to pay better attention during matches, Potter. I've grown rather used to having the Quidditch cup in my office."

Lily stared at the door, "Did she really just say that?"

"McGonagall is really into Quidditch." James said smiling; he held out his hand, "I'll walk you back up to the castle."

They walked back up to the school hand in hand, in companionable silence. They had just gotten to the grand staircase when James stopped suddenly. "Lily I wanted to, er, ask you something." He said very quickly.

Lily swallowed; _he was going to ask her now_! "Yeah?"

"I was wondering, if, er, you wanted to…" He sputtered.

"If I wanted to what?" She asked feeling butterflies dancing around in her stomach.

"If you wanted to," He stopped, looked at her, "tutormeinpotions."

Lily blinked, that hadn't sounded like 'Go with me to Hogsmead.' "What?"

James took a deep breath, "Could you, er, tutor me in potions?"

Lily felt the butterflies turn to lead in her belly, "Potions?"

"Yeah. I'm, er, falling behind."

Lily could feel the tears forming in her eyes, "Oh, er, yeah, sure." She was determined not to cry in front of him, "I've got to go. I've, er, got to go get ready to patrol." She walked quickly away, careful not to run until he was out of eyesight. James watched her go and sadly made his way to Dumbledore's office, mentally kicking himself the whole time.

Lily's eyes were blurred and she didn't notice anyone when she rounded a corner. She bumped solidly into someone, who grabbed her arms to keep her from falling. She closed her eyes, tried to regain her composure, "Sorry." She mumbled.

"No, problem. But try to slow down, Lily; I'll have to take points off next time."

Lily looked into the smiling face of Jason Fitzgerald. She forced a smile, "Sorry for running into you like that, Jason."

"Don't worry about it. I'm in too good a mood; that was a great match wasn't it?"

Lily fought the need to roll her eyes, _her _team had lost. "Yeah." She muttered.

Her thoughts drifted back to James, _why hadn't he asked her out_? She heard Jason say something about looking for her, "Why?" She asked absently.

_We almost kissed, if it hadn't been for McGonagall we would have_. Something about the next Hogsmead visit being in two weeks, "Yeah."

_So, what? It wasn't the first time either; he almost kissed me that day we went ice skating too._ "Yeah." She said again. She watched Jason's face light up. _What did I just agree to_?

"Yeah, brilliant. I'll meet you in the Entrance Hall before we leave then." He said grinning.

She gave him a weak smile as he bounded up the stairs that headed towards the Ravenclaw common room. She pushed a hand to her stomach, "I feel sick." Then the tears did come, she walked miserably the rest of the way back to the common room. She trudged up to her dorm.

"What did James want?" Marlie asked grinning; Sirius had told them that James was planning to ask her out.

Lily didn't answer; just flopped, face first, on to her bed. Marlie glanced at Alice, Dorcas, and Emily. "Lily?"

Lily rolled over, stared at the top of her bed, "I hate boys."

"So are you going for girls now? 'Cause you're seriously going to disappoint a large portion of the student population." Alice asked.

"The girls? 'Cause I'm pretty sure the guys'll be more into her." Dorcas said grinning.

Lily sniffed, they all took a good look at her face, "Lily, honey, what's wrong?" Marlie asked sitting on Lily's bed.

"I'm so stupid!" Lily wailed, throwing her arms around Marlie and sobbing.

They all blinked, this was not normal Lily behavior, she never cried like this over guys. "Jesus," Emily said, "what did James do?"

"Nothing, he didn't do anything." Lily spit out through sobs.

"Lil, he had to have done something to get you acting like this." Alice insisted.

Lily stopped sobbing, and wiped the tears viciously off her cheeks. "The bloody bastard asked me to tutor him in potions."

"Tutor him in potions?" Dorcas asked confused. "Is that code for 'go to Hogsmead with me?'"

"No." Lily said dejectedly, "And after we almost snogged in the locker room, we were about this close." Lily said holding her index finger and thumb less than a centimeter apart. "And then McGonagall walked in, so we didn't. And when we got back here he said he wanted to ask me something, so I thought he was finally going to ask me out. And then he didn't."

"Oh, honey, I'm sorry." Dorcas said patting her arm.

"That's when I did the really stupid thing."

"What did you do?" Alice asked.

"I ran into Jason Fitzgerald, the Head Boy, and I'm pretty sure I agreed to go to Hogsmead with him."

Emily blinked, "Pretty sure? Isn't that something you usually know for sure?"

"I was upset and I wasn't paying attention to what he was saying, I was thinking about James. And, and, and, I don't want to go." Lily wailed throwing herself back down on the bed.

* * *

The next two weeks were awful for Lily, at breakfast the first day after what she had taken to calling 'the incident' her eyes had locked with James'. He looked so dejected that it had taken everything she had not to throw herself into his arms on the spot. After that she done her best to avoid James, and considering that they were in all the same classes, and in the same house, it was surprisingly easy. In fact, the ease in which she was avoiding him gave her the sneaking suspicion that he was avoiding her as well.

Lily woke up the morning of her date with Jason Fitzgerald more miserable than she had been in the entire two weeks preceding it. She dressed mechanically, sighing every few minutes. "Lily, you don't have to go." Dorcas said.

"I've told you guys, I'm not going to do that to him. I may not have been paying attention at the time, but I did agree to go. I'll tell him that I don't think it's a good idea for us to go out when we get back. He'd be terribly embarrassed otherwise." She was looking at herself in the mirror and didn't see the look that passed between Dorcas and Emily. "I'm going to brush my teeth; I'll be done in a second."

While Lily was in the bathroom Dorcas slipped out the door, "Make sure it's a good one." Emily said.

Drocas grinned, "Oh, it will be."

Lily came out a minute later looking as resolute as a soldier who knew he was heading to his death. "Where's Dorcas?"

"She was starving, so she ran down to breakfast."

"Okay." Lily said suspiciously. They got to the bottom of the stairs just in time to see James being pulled down by Remus and Sirius, with Gideon behind, pushing him.

They all stopped short when they saw each other. "Guys, I'm just going to stay in the room today." James said, ducking under Gideon's arm and going back up the stairs.

Tears filled Lily's eyes, "I'm going to go to breakfast." She said as she scurried out of the common room, Emily close behind, calling to her.

"Well, that was awkward." Gideon murmured.

"No shit, Sherlock." Sirius said back. When the other boys stared at him he said, "What? Lily taught it too me."

Emily caught up to Lily in the Entrance Hall where they ran into Dorcas. "How's it going?" She asked.

Dorcas grinned at her, "Brilliantly."

Emily met her stare, "Good."

"What's going on? What are the two of you up to?" Lily asked looking from one to the other.

"Nothing." Emily replied. "Isn't it almost time for you to meet Jason? Do you want us to wait with you?"

Lily looked down at her watch, sighed; _guess I won't be having breakfast today_. "No, I'll just wait here."

"Okay. Well, we'll see you in Hogsmead then." Dorcas said pulling Emily out the door, Filch eying them warily.

Twenty minutes later Lily was seriously annoyed, but she decided to give Jason ten more minutes. After the ten minutes were up Lily stormed up the stairs, where she ran into Jason coming down the stairs. "Oh, so you're coming down now?"

Jason blinked at her, "Yeah, so?"

Lily sputtered, "SO? SO? YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO MEET ME HALF AN HOUR AGO! YOU ARE SUCH AN ASSHOLE!" She yelled then stamped the rest of the way up to the common room. When she got to her room, she took a deep breath; _I didn't want to go anyway_. Then getting an idea, she grabbed her potions books and went to settle her thing with James right then.

She walked straight to the sixth year boy's dorm ignoring the looks she was getting from the other boys, and walked right in. James who was lying on his bed, his pillow covering his face called, "Go away Padfoot, for the last time, I'm not going." Lily slammed the door shut, walked over to him and dropped her books onto his stomach.

She got a vicious pleasure from his grunt of pain. "What the hell? Lily? Why are you up here? What's all this?"

Lily paced back and forth as James got off the bed, "It's my things for potions. That _is_ what you wanted me to do isn't it, teach you potions."

"Er." But James didn't know what to say, he'd never seen Lily like this before. She walked to him, shoved his chest hard enough to have him stumbling back several steps. His eyes narrowed dangerously. "You're going to want to stop hitting me."

Lily's fists balled, "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah." James replied, "Why aren't you at Hogsmead with your _boyfriend_."

Lily slapped James upside the head, "He didn't show, and he's _not_ my boyfriend. I didn't even want to go with _him_ anyway."

James grabbed her wrists, jerked her towards him, forcing her to look up to keep eye contact, "I told you to stop hitting me."

"What are you going to do about it?" Lily challenged sticking her chin out. Lily knew it was a bad idea to challenge James like this, but she was getting a dark pleasure out of watching him loose control. _It's got to be sick_. She thought.

James' hazel eyes flashed as he roughly pinned her up against the wall. She struggled, but found she couldn't move, "Let me go." She hissed.

"No."

"Let me go."

James pulled her hands above her head, trapped them there with one of his own, "No."

Lily felt her pulse pounding, saw James' in his throat, "Let me go." But the conviction was no longer there.

James was staring at her with dangerously dark eyes, "I warned you Lily." He didn't give her a chance to reply as his lips descended on her neck.

Lily wanted to push him away, wanted to do any number of things, she really did, but found she didn't have the strength. She did, however, tilt her head, instinctively, to give him better access to her neck, and moan as he nipped lightly, then not so lightly along her collarbone.

James' free hand traveled from her waist to the top of her shirt, where he slowly undid the buttons. With the buttons undone James pushed Lily's shirt open, his hand found its way back to her waist, where it rested for a moment, right below her ribs. His hand felt gloriously cool against her rapidly heating skin. The hand inched torturously slow up her side; Lily moaned and arched her back when he cupped her, when his thumb brushed her nipple.

Lily's breath was coming in short shallow bursts as he switched to the other side of her neck, to her other breast. James let go of Lily's wrists using his free hand to balance himself on the wall and nudged his knee between Lily's thighs. She made a guttural noise in her throat and buried her hands in his hair, bringing his head to her chest. She gasped when he nipped at her through her bra.

"Hey, Prongs, I forgot my cloak, are you sure you don't wan…" The door opened and Remus stared wide eyed at the pair of them for a moment, "Holy shit, sorry." Then slammed the door closed again.

James looked down at Lily, her eyes were closed, her face flushed, her lips were parted slightly as air rushed between them. And she was trembling. He shook his head in disgust, he put his hands on either side of her heated face, watched her eyes open slowly, "Merlin, Lily, I'm so…"

"Don't." Lily murmured, "Please, don't.

He dropped his hands immediately, stepped back, sat on his bed. "I know what I did was inexcusable, but…"

"Stop." Lily said firmly, James' eyes darted to her as she quickly did up the buttons to her blouse. "Don't apologize for kissing me.

"Kissing you? I didn't kiss you, I" James paused trying to find the right word, _ravaged_ Lily thought, "attacked you."

Lily smiled, took James' face in both of hers, "No, you didn't."

"I forced myself on you. I should be sent to Azkaban."

"I could have stopped you."

"How? I'm a lot stronger than you are."

Lily dropped her hands, she knew she wasn't getting through to him, "All I had to do was say, 'no', but I didn't want to, I didn't want you to stop, because I wanted it as much as you did."

"Lily, I took advantage of you at the very least."

Lily sighed, climbed onto James' lap, and wrapped her arms around his neck, "Okay, fine, so next time, you're pissed and not thinking straight, I'll take advantage of you. Then we'll be even."

James laughed, put his hands on her waist, "It's a deal." Lily smiled and squirmed off his lap and out of his reach, "You know we never did get around to that proper kiss."

"No, we didn't, did we?" She asked picking up her books and straightening her clothes.

"And I'm not thinking particularly straight, so maybe you could take advantage of me now?"

"Are you pissed?" Lily asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Not particularly."

"Well, then, I'm sorry, I can't help you. You have to be both before I can properly take advantage of you." Lily giggled and slipped out the door as James groaned. He was in desperate need of a very long, very cold, shower.


	7. Chapter 6

socal4ever: I think you might just be my favorite person ever... Talk about stupid grins, I think I get one just about every time you review my story, so THANKS:D

A/N: I meant to get this chapter out a couple of days ago, but when you miss a week a school make-up work really sucks... Anyway, read, enjoy, review...

_Great deeds are usually wrought at great risks. – Herodotus_

_First romance, first love, is something so special to all of us, both emotionally and physically, that it touches our lives and enriches them forever. - Rosemary Rogers_

**Chapter Six**

Lily was woken up two weeks later with a spray of cold water to the face. "AHHH!" She sputtered.

"I told you that would work." Dorcas said bounding over to Lily's bed. "I've wanted to do that for two months now. Happy birthday, Lily."

Lily looked grumpily at Dorcas, "You are one of the meanest people that I know." She grabbed her wand and dried herself and her bed off. "I'm coming to your house this summer just so I can spray you with water."

"Hey, Lily, I'd go the day before, so that way you can spray her down, but she won't be able to do anything back to you." Alice said grinning.

Dorcas gaped at her while Lily grinned evilly. "That's true; you guys want to come with me?"

"What? No, that's not allowed." Dorcas whined.

"Blows to be the last to turn seventeen, doesn't it." Emily laughed while Dorcas pouted.

"Anyway," Marlie said, "Lily, do you want your presents now? Or do you want them tomorrow?"

Lily thought about it for a second, "Tomorrow."

"Seriously?" Dorcas asked, "How can you wait that long?"

"Not everyone is as impatient as you are Dorcas." Alice said.

Dorcas shrugged, "Weird."

Lily laughed, "Plus I like the anticipation, it makes it better when you finally get to open them."

Dorcas, Emily, Marlie, and Alice looked at one another, tried not to laugh. It didn't work; Dorcas was the first to start snickering, which caused the other girls to laugh as well.

Lily looked at them strangely, "What's so funny?"

"You like anticipation because it makes it better?" Marlie asked.

"Yeah." Lily said slowly, not sure where this was heading. "I like to drag it out."

"Does that go for everything?" Alice asked shaking.

"What?"

Marlie was biting her lip to keep from laughing, "How about with James, does it make it better when you drag it out?" They all started laughing hysterically as Lily went red.

"James and I are just friends."

"Whatever you say Lily." Alice said.

Later that night, after almost everyone else had gone to bed, Lily was sitting in the common room finishing essay for herbology,_ serves me right, leaving it to the last minute_. She put her arms over her head and arched her back to stretch the ache out of her lower back. "Can you do that again?" A voice called from across the room.

Lily smiled, "Pervert."

James shrugged, "Do you want help with your essay?"

"No, thanks, I've just finished."

"Okay, I've got something for you." Lily raised an eyebrow and James rolled his eyes, "Now who's the pervert. I meant a birthday present."

Lily's eyes lit up, "You got me a present?"

"Yeah, let me run up to my room and get it, stay here." James ran up the stairs and quickly bounded back down grinning. He handed her a bag packed with tissue paper.

Lily gently started pulling the tissue paper out of the bag, "Lily, come on."

She giggled, "Just kidding." She tore the rest of it out, pulled out a stuffed monkey. "James, he's adorable."

"You like it?"

"Yeah, he's so soft and squishy." Lily said squeezing him.

"Okay, good. That was for your childhood, er, fascination, we'll call it, with monkeys." Lily rolled her eyes, "And this is because I thought you would like it." He said taking a small box from behind his back.

Lily looked at him curiously, "You got me two presents?"

"Yep. Here's the other."

Lily took the box, slowly unwrapped, then gasped. "James, you shouldn't have." Sitting in the box was a gold necklace with a small heart charm.

James' face fell, "You don't like it?"

"What? No, I love it. But wasn't it expensive?"

He shrugged, "It wasn't too bad. It's only a little more than I would've spent on the guys for their birthdays. Plus, it's your seventeenth birthday, it should be special."

Lily smiled at him, felt the tears well up in her eyes, "Thank you." She held the necklace out to James, turned around, "Can you put it on for me?"

James took the necklace, lifted Lily's hair out of the way, and clasped the necklace. He placed a soft kiss to the back of her neck, smiled when he heard her sharp intake of breath. "Let's see then." Lily turned around and he smiled, "It looks lovely."

"Thanks." She hugged him, stood on her tiptoes so that she could kiss his cheek. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Night."

* * *

"James!" Lily hissed, "Stop bouncing! We're supposed to be writing an essay on Amortentia." 

"I know, but, Lily, the match is going to be starting soon." James replied.

Lily looked at her watch, "It doesn't start for another hour. And all I have to do is write about what it smells like to me." _Rain, freshly mowed grass, and, something else_, Lily thought, her brow furrowed. _Something that, oddly enough, reminds me of Christmas_.

"Please, Lily." He looked at her with puppy-dog eyes. "We can finish the essay tomorrow morning, I swear I'll be up by eight."

"James, you know you'll never be up that early." Lily whispered; Madam Pince was glaring at the pair of them even though they were the only two in the library. "And those eyes don't work on me."

James sighed, then grinned evilly, "Well then, I guess you're forcing me to pull out my last weapon."

Lily's eyes narrowed, "What are you on about?" She put her quill down as James scooted closer to her. "What are you doing?"

"You'll see." James placed his hand on her knee, right below the bottom of her skirt.

"James!" Lily hissed; she had a suspicion where this was going.

"We can stop now Lily, or you can suffer my wrath." Lily turned to face James, raised an eyebrow, and lifted her chin slightly.

James nodded his head in acknowledgement of her challenge, then instead of moving his hand up, as Lily had expected, he squeezed lightly. Lily jerked and let out a short burst of laughter.

"This is a _library_. You are to be _quiet_." Madam Pince called.

"That's not fair." Lily said through hushed giggles. James' other hand had found its way to her waist and was tickling her side. "Stop." She giggled, "I c, c, can't breathe."

"All you have to do is say the word." James replied grinning.

Lily turned, shifted closer to James, "Oh, g, god, J, Jay." She moaned, through gasping breaths. James stopped dead at her breathy plea. Lily swallowed, her legs had shifted when she moved and the hand that had rested on her knee was now quite high on her thigh.

Lily stared at James, quite suddenly unable to move, she watched as he swallowed. He scooted closer to her, his hand riding up slightly higher. He moved his hand from her side to the back of her neck, and Lily buried her own hand in his hair. James leaned down, inadvertently putting some of his weight on the hand on her thigh; she felt her eyes go blurry. Lily tilted her head to James'.

"WHAT IS GOING ON?" Lily and James jumped apart. "THIS IS A LIBRARY, NOT A BEDROOM! GET OUT! AND TWENTY POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR FOR INAPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR!"

They ran for the exit as their books smacked them upside the head. Lily rubbed her head when they were out of the library, "Ouch."

James grinned at her, bent down to pick up their books. "We keep getting interrupted just when we get to the kissing part."

Lily blew out a breath, "How many times is that now?"

James looked up, "Four or five."

"Maybe it's some sort of sign?"

"Merlin, I hope not." James replied, Lily giggled. "Here are your books, Lil." Lily went to grab for the books, but instead of giving them to her, James grabbed her hand.

He turned her hand and placed his lips gently on the inside of her wrist. Lily smiled as she felt her knees go week, "The match." She murmured.

"Uh huh. We're going to be a little late; I've found something a bit more entertaining at the moment." He kissed the inside of her elbow, gently pushed her against one of the walls.

Lily leaned back against the wall, thankful it was there, she wasn't sure how much longer she would be able to stand on her own. James was placing butterfly kisses on her neck, suckling occasionally, and blowing lightly on the red marks he had made. She put her hand behind his neck, pulled him towards her when he found a particularly sensitive spot under her jaw. Her nails scraped lightly over the back of his neck when he nipped at her ear. "James." She said throatily. He moved to her face; kissed her eyes, the tip of her nose. Lily moaned softly when he kissed the corners of her mouth.

"What have we here?" An oily voice asked.

"You _have_ to be fucking _kidding_ me." James muttered pulling away from Lily. Lily glanced over and into the eyes of a malicious Severus Snape.

"Ah, it's the blood traitor and his filthy mudblood whore." Snape pulled his wand from his robes, twirled in menacingly in his spidery fingers.

Lily felt James stiffen next to her and grabbed his hand. She shook her head slightly when he looked down at her. "Whipped already, Potter? How long has she be putting out then?"

James started towards Snape, but Lily pulled on his hand. "Don't." She said to James. Then she turned her attention to Snape, her eyes narrowed dangerously, "Why don't you go fuck yourself, you should be used to that by now, as no one else would dare touch you."

Snape sputtered as Lily pulled James down the corridor. "I'm going to figure out what you're up to, Potter." Snape called right before they rounded the corner.

James stopped short, "I thought that would have been obvious, even to someone like you. I was kissing Lily, though I realize the only snogging experience that you have is with your mum's knickers, and may not have realized that snogging is supposed to involve two _people_." Though he knew Snape wasn't talking about him and Lily; he'd taken to following the Marauders around on the nights of the full moon.

"He's such a total and utter wanker." Lily said as they walked into the Gryffindor common room. "I'll just be a second; I want to throw my books upstairs." Lily dashed up the stairs threw her books on her bed, then quickly ran a brush over her hair; her hair had a habit of getting messy when she and James were together. She was smirking as she walked down the stairs.

James was sitting on one of the tables, playing around with a snitch. "Where'd you get that?"

James whirled around, his face looking like that of a naughty child. "I, er, nicked it last year. I just found it in my trunk when I went to put my books back. I was going to put it back when we went down to the pitch." Lily smiled, shook her head, and laughed a little. "What?" James asked letting the snitch go.

"You just look so guilty." Lily giggled. Then, to James' astonishment she snatched the snitched out of the air before he could grab it.

James' mouth dropped open, "Why don't you play Quidditch?" He asked walking down the stairs to the Entrance Hall.

Lily smiled, "Because I'm not particularly good at flying. And last time I checked that was a requirement for Quidditch."

"I could give you lessons if you wanted." James suggested as they walked out to the pitch.

Lily shrugged, "Maybe." She said dismissively.

"I wonder what the score is." James said looking at the blue and green blurs above them.

"I cannot believe I'm saying this, but I really hope that Slytherin is winning." Lily said climbing the stands.

"Tell me about it." James replied. "Hey, budge over a bit." He said to several seventh years.

"Sorry James, Lily, you two should have gotten here earlier. There's not a whole lot of room." Said a brown haired boy moving over as much as possible.

James shrugged, "Thanks Dylan. Don't worry, we'll squeeze in." James turned to Lily, "Here you stand in front of me." Lily squeezed herself in between the front of the stand and James.

It was the weirdest Quidditch Match she had ever been to. The whole of Gryffindor was hoping that Slytherin would win, but, as it just felt wrong to be rooting for them, there was no cheering coming from the Gryffindor stands. When Lily said as much to James he laughed, put his arm around her stomach to pull her closer, and set his other on the stand in front of them.

"Tell me about it, I feel like I should be rooting for Ravenclaw; even if it means losing the cup." James muttered in her ear. Lily smiled and leaned back into James, she sighed contentedly when she felt James' chin rest on her head.

The Gryffindors, who had watched the match in relative silence, didn't cheer when Slytherin won, but they did breathe a sigh of relief. They still had a chance to win the cup; all they had to do was beat Slytherin.

"OY! James, Lily!" Called Gideon from the middle of a crowd of people.

Lily and James looked back, smiled, "Hey."

"Where were you guys?" Alice asked.

"We were working on our potions essays earlier this morning, and by the time we got down here, it was packed. So, what did you think of the match?" James replied.

"It's good that Slytherin won, but come on, four hundred and twenty? Someone should have a serious talk with the Ravenclaw keeper." Dorcas muttered.

"Tell me about it." James responded. "We're only going to need a hundred and seventy to get second, but we're going to have to beat Slytherin by a hundred and twenty."

They all shook their heads, "Hey Lily, can I borrow your potions essay? I have a shit load of homework that I still have to do, most of it for Arithmancy." Dorcas asked.

"I didn't finish it." Lily answered.

Dorcas' brow furrowed, "How come?"

Lily shrugged, glanced at James out of the corner of her eye, he grinned back at her, "Wasn't enough time."

The girls noticed the exchange between the two, "Come on Lil, I think it's time that we have a little girl time." Alice said linking arms with Lily.

"I'll see you guys later." Lily called to the boys, though she was only looking at James.

The girls walked with Lily up to their dorm so that way they could get some privacy. The moment the door closed the questions started, "So, Lily?" Marlie started, "What's going on with you and James?"

"Nothing. We're just friends."

"Friends?"

"Yeah." Lily responded, _friends who practically snog in the corridors_.

"The kind of friends that come with benefits?" Dorcas asked.

"Don't be ridiculous." Lily replied. "Why don't we ask Marlie about Ryan? I bet she has a lot more entertaining stories to tell."

"That's a nice try." Alice said. "But we _know_ what is going on with Marlie and Ryan; they're dating and shagging every chance that they get."

"Shove off. We're trying to find out about Lily and James, not discussing my sex life." Marlie responded, blushing furiously. "Dorcas, remind me never to tell her anything again."

Dorcas grinned, "Will do. So Lily, judging on your dodging of the answer, I'm assuming that you and James are, indeed, friends with benefits. So the question begs, how is he?"

Lily turned a violent shade of red, "I don't, we don't," She took a deep breath, "James and I've never even kissed." _Properly_, Lily added mentally.

Emily, who had been quiet up until then, raised her eyebrows, "Really? So where did that love bite come from?"

Lily's hand jumped to her neck, "No fucking way." They all laughed as Lily jumped to the mirror to examine her neck.

"It's no use, dear; you'll need a charm to cover that." The mirror said to her.

"I'm going to kill him." Lily muttered darkly.

* * *

A week and a half later James and Lily were walking around the grounds, it was an unusually warm April day, and most of the students were taking advantage of the gorgeous afternoon. "I love Easter break." James said. "I really needed a break. I thought this year would be easier than last year, since our O.W.L.s are over, but it's actually harder. N.E.W.T.s aren't even until next year, I don't know what they're playing at." 

Lily grinned, "I know what you mean. I imagined that this year would be a lot easier than last, we have no big tests and fewer classes, but somehow I think there's more work. Speaking of needing breaks, how is Remus doing?"

"I think it's some sort of weird allergic reaction or something." James replied hastily.

Lily looked at him strangely, and he wasn't sure if she believed him or not, "To what?"

"I dunno, something he ate at lunch apparently."

"Huh."

"Yeah. So, there's one more Hogsmead visit this year."

"Yes, there is, in a couple of weeks." Lily replied.

"So, do you, er, want to go with me?" James asked.

Lily smiled, "Are you sure you don't want me to tutor you in potions instead?"

James turned red, "I was nervous, I thought you would say no. What about the next trip, do you want to go with me?"

Lily stopped, turned to James, "Yeah, I'd like to go with you." James smiled, grabbed her hand, and pulled her towards the school.

They were almost in the castle when James spotted a figure moving near the Whomping Willow. "What's Snape doing down there?"

Lily turned, saw Snape examining the tree, "Who cares, let's just hope that the prat gets whacked around a bit." Even as she said it a branch knocked Snape to the ground.

"I'm going to tell the git to get away from there." James said as he started walking towards Snape.

"James, stop." Lily said putting her hands on James' chest to stop him. A sudden image of the two of them in James' room a couple of days before Valentine's Day popped into her mind. "James you're not thinking straight."

"Bloody right, I'm not. I'm too bloody angry."

Lily grinned, "Come with me."

James looked at her strangely, "Lily, I'll go with you in a second, I just want to talk to him for a moment."

Lily rolled her eyes, stood on her tip toes, "You meet the requirements now." When James continued to look confused she continued, "I'm going to take advantage of you." James grinned at her and they laughed all the way up to his dorm.

"It's a good thing we didn't meet anyone on the way up here." Lily giggled as she closed and locked the door. James raised an eyebrow, "I don't fancy anyone else walking in on us. Remus may have kept it secret, but not everyone would. Plus, I'm not keen on any more of your roommates seeing me half naked."

"Does that mean _I'm_ going to get to see you half naked?" James asked with a broad smile.

Lily smiled back, pushed him so he was sitting on his bed. "We'll see how it goes." She straddled his legs, planting one knee on either side of his thighs. She nipped lightly at his jaw. "You know I still haven't gotten you back for that love bite you gave me last week."

"Sorry." James said, though he sounded anything but.

Her hands gripped his shirt, untucked it, and drew it up over his head. Lily tossed the shirt over her shoulder where it landed in the middle of the room. She pushed him down so that he was lying on his bed. Lily's breath clogged in her lungs at the sight of the wiry muscles in his arms and chest, she bent down to place open mouthed kisses on his chest. She smiled against his skin when he groaned.

James hands had found their way to her hips and were in the process of lifting Lily's shirt when she slapped them away. James raised an eyebrow, "I'm the one taking advantage of you this time." Lily murmured sitting up, her eyes widened slightly when she felt him harden against her bottom.

"Just giving you a hand." James mumbled, he was having a hard time getting air into his lungs.

Lily smirked, "That's not your hand."

James was surprised that he could laugh at a time like this, but laugh he did, "Right you are." His laugh ended on a moan when Lily continued kissing his chest. She had made her way to his navel, James' hand tangled in her hair, when there was a loud knock on the door.

"Potter! Why is this door locked?" Came McGonagall's voice.

Lily jumped off the bed, "Oh, shit!" She looked around panicked for a place to hide.

James grabbed a cloak off the floor, threw it at her, "Invisibility Cloak." James tossed his shirt back over his head, making sure to leave it untucked. He opened the door as Lily covered herself with the Invisibility Cloak. "Sorry Professor, I was taking a nap."

"A nap?" McGonagall asked. "On a beautiful day like this?"

"Yeah, it's the only time when it's quiet in here." James said quickly.

She stared at him suspiciously, "The Headmaster wants to see you in his office."

"Okay, I'll be right down." McGonagall walked down the stairs, throwing one more suspicious look over her shoulder. "It's okay, Lily, she's gone."

Lily pulled off the cloak, "That woman has the worst timing ever. Where did you get that cloak?"

James laughed, pulled Lily into a hug and kissed her forehead. "From my dad, he gave it too me in third year, it's been in our family forever." He answered, "We're going to finish this eventually."

"Yeah," Lily muttered, "eventually."

"I'll see later?" James asked. Lily nodded, "Okay, good, why don't you use the cloak to get back to your room, that way no one sees you sneaking out of here."

"Good idea, thanks." Lily grabbed the cloak, tossed it over her shoulders and darted out the door.

Later that night Lily was patrolling the corridors, alone as Remus was still in the Hospital Wing, when she heard two people whispering harshly to each other. She went over to tell them off for being out of bed, but stopped when she noticed it was Sirius and Snape.

Lily ducked into an empty classroom to listen to what they were saying. "I thought you told you to stay away from the Whomping Willow, Snivellus."

"And since when do I listen to you, Black?" Snape replied. "I will find out what the four of you are up to. And I promise you that I _will_ get the lot of you expelled. And then you and Potter can kiss those auror careers goodbye."

Sirius growled, "You really want to know where we go?" Snape looked at him suspiciously. "All you have to do is find a long stick and prod the knot at the base of the Whomping Willow with it. The tree'll stop moving, then all you have to do is follow the tunnel."

"Why should I believe you?" Snape asked warily.

"It's up to you really." Sirius said, then he turned and walked away with a smirk.

Lily watched as Snape looked out the window at the Whomping Willow. She had an apprehensive feeling, like something very bad was going to happen. That was twice in one day that one of the Marauders had flipped because Snape had been near that tree.

_I'm going to find James and see what the hell is going on_. Lily thought. She hurried towards the Gryffindor common room and happened to run into James on his way down to the kitchens. "Hey, want to go get something to eat with me?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "Or, er, not."

"What's going on at the Whomping Willow tonight?"

She watched as James lost all color in his face. "What are you talking about? What gave you the idea that anything is going on?" James asked in rapid succession.

"One, Sirius just told Snape how to get into a secret tunnel under the tree and told him to go down there, two…"

James grabbed Lily's arms roughly, his face was now dead white, "What did you say? Are you sure?"

"Ouch. What the hell James? Yes, I'm sure, I just heard them myself. What in Merlin's name is going on?"

But James didn't answer; he was pulling a bit of parchment out of his robes. He tapped it with his want, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Lily watched in astonishment as lines spread out and formed on the paper. "Shit, he's down there now. Lily go to Dumbledore's office; tell him what you just told me." He tapped the parchment again, "Mischief managed."

"What? Why?" Lily asked.

"Just do it; it's a matter of life and death. The password's licorice stick." He shoved the parchment in his pocket.

"Where are you going?"

"To stop Snape. Lily you have to go to Dumbledore, now, or he could get killed." James said then took off running; neither of them saw the parchment flutter to the ground.

Lily turned and ran in the other direction, sprinting down the corridors, she didn't know what was going on, but she knew that James wouldn't say it was a matter of life and death if it wasn't. She passed a couple of people who called her name, but she didn't slow down. By the time she got to the gargoyle outside Dumbledore's office she was panting, badly. "L, l, licorice stick."

She ran up the stairs even as they were bringing her up and pounded on the door. "PROFESSOR!"

She was slightly shocked when Professor McGonagall opened the door. "Evans? What is the meaning of this?"

"Let her in, Minerva, I'm sure it's important." Dumbledore said good naturedly.

"Professor, Sirius Black just told Severus Snape how to get into the tunnel under the Whomping Willow, and told him to go down it tonight." Lily said, still slightly out of breath.

She heard Professor McGonagall gasp, watched as the twinkle in Professor Dumbledore's eyes went out. "Lily, stay here until one of us comes back for you. Minerva." They hurried out.

"Professors," Lily said just before they shut the door, "James Potter, just went down there to stop Snape."

Dumbledore nodded his head gravely. "Thank you, Lily. Minerva, we have to hurry."

Lily sat down in one of the chairs, fidgeted for a minute before standing up. _I wish I knew what was going on_. She watched several of the portraits before she started pacing. She grabbed, something off a shelf near the window, rolled it in her hand, placed it back.

She squinted out the window, squinted to see to the Whomping Willow, even with the full moon she could hardly see anything it was so dark. _Wait, the full moon? Why else would they be so worried? There's a werewolf. It's obviously not James and Sirius, but they know who it is...REMUS!_ Lily thought.

She dashed to Dumbledore's desk, but couldn't find a calendar. "Accio Calendar." Lily said and had a calendar shooting at her from around a corner. She flipped it to April fourth; a full moon. She turned it back, Remus had been sick three weeks before the last Quidditch match; there it was, March fifth; a full moon. She looked back at February and January, Remus had been sick around those full moons too.

Lily swallowed, _James! He'd gone to get Snape away from a fully grown werewolf, on his own_. She hugged her arms to her stomach, bit her lip, and felt her eyes tear. She paced back and forth frantically, her mind imagining a number of different scenarios as to what was going on. Nearly all of them had James not coming back.

When the door opened Lily froze, there was Dumbledore, but where was, "JAMES!" She pounced on him, frantically checking for bites. "You're so stupid." She cried, hugging him when she was satisfied that he hadn't be hurt, "You could have been bitten or worse."

James blinked, hugged her back, "Some people would say that there's nothing worse than being bitten."

"Yes, well, some people are stupid." Lily replied. James hugged her tighter.

"Lily, James." Dumbledore said, "I want to thank you for what you've done tonight. Because of you Severus Snape's life was saved. I trust you have figured out what happened here tonight Lily."

"Yes, sir."

"I don't believe I need to inform you that the identity of the werewolf needs to remain a secret."

"No, sir."

"Good, now, for your actions, I believe I will award you each fifty points. Now go back to your common room, I need to speak with Mr. Black now. James I would like to speak with you in the morning." Dumbledore said, looked at Lily for a moment, "I would like you to come as well, Lily."

"Yes, sir, thank you." James said squeezing Lily's hand, she still hadn't let go of him. "Come on Lily, I don't think we want to be around for this."

The passed Sirius walking with McGonagall on their way back. "Thanks a lot Evans; do you know how much trouble I'm in because of you?"

"Don't you blame her for this, Sirius. If it weren't for Lily you'd be out of the school." James said angrily.

Sirius looked at James, "Figures you'd take her side. Good to know that a girl comes before your best friend."

"Mr. Black, that is enough." McGonagall said. "We are going to the Headmaster's office, now!"

James watched Sirius' retreating back, "Bugger it." He said, then punched the wall. "Fuck, that hurts." He mumbled shaking his hand.

Lily jumped, "Are you alright? Here let me see." Lily took James' had, tapped it with her wand.

"Thanks, that feels better." James muttered. "Listen, I don't want to go back to the common room. I'm just going to wander around a bit."

"No, wait." Lily said. "I know where you can go."

James furrowed his brow, "Where."

"Come with me." Lily said pulling him. "Stubbins told me about it when I went down to the kitchens to thank him for the picture."

They walked back and forth past a stretch of wall several times. "Lily, what are we doing? Didn't this used to be a broom cupboard? I hid from Filch one time in it."

Lily pulled him in the room, "It's called 'The Room of Requirement'. It becomes whatever you need it to be."

"Wicked." James murmured. He looked around the room; it was an almost exact replica of his bedroom at home.

Lily smiled slightly, "Do you want me to go?"

James shook his head, "No, I think I'd like it if you stayed."

Lily looked up at him, "Okay." They sat down on the bed; Lily brushed her hand across his cheek. "I was so worried about you." She said softly.

James kissed her forehead. "I'm okay."

"I know." She looked up at him, "It didn't stop me from being worried, once I realized what was going on. I kept thinking about what would happen if Dumbledore and McGonagall didn't get there in time."

"Lily."

Lily shook her head, wiped at the tears falling down her cheeks, "You did something great tonight. Risking your life for Snape's."

"He was really pissed when I pulled him out. He thinks I was in on it."

"Dumbledore knows differently, so it doesn't matter what Snape thinks."

"Everything's going to be different after tonight. I don't know if Sirius and I will ever get over this, he was so _stupid_. And when Remus finds out what happened, I don't know what he'll do."

"It'll be okay." Lily said softly.

"You don't know that."

"You'll make it okay, I know that."

James placed his hand on her cheek, "Thank you." He placed soft kisses on her eyes, across her cheek bone, and, finally, on her lips.

He moved his hand to Lily's hair, nipped her bottom lip, soothed it with his tongue. Lily moaned softly. He traced her lips with his tongue, slipped it between her lips when she opened them. "James." Lily murmured. He placed several more soft kisses on her mouth.

"James." Lily said again.

He rested his forehead on hers, looked into her eyes. "I think you might be the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Lily felt her breath catch in her throat. She pulled his face back down to hers, kissed him again. She pulled back, traced his face with her fingertips, "Tell me about it."

James lied back, brought Lily with him. She shifted, laid her head on his shoulder. "Goodnight, James." She placed her hand on his chest, over his heart.

"Goodnight, Lily." He pulled her close to his side, left his hands around her waist, and kissed the top of her head.


	8. Chapter 7

socal4ever: You are absolutely my most favorite person ever :D I'm glad that you like my story so much… YAY!

_For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul. - Judy Garland_

_If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow. – Chinese Proverb_

**Chapter Seven**

Lily woke up the next morning slightly disoriented; she turned her head to see James staring at her, "Hey." He muttered.

"Hey. How long have you been awake?" Lily asked. She looked at her watch, _it's only quarter to seven, wow we're up early._

"Not long, about ten minutes."

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

James shrugged, "You look cute when you're sleeping. You have all these little freckles across your nose and cheeks."

Lily looked at him oddly, "James, I've freckles everywhere."

James grinned wickedly, "Is that a fact?"

"Shut up, you know what I mean."

Still grinning, James said, "I do, but I'd still like to put that to the test." Lily rolled her eyes. "But what _I _meant was that there's a bunch of darker freckles there."

Lily shrugged, rubbed at her nose, "I guess; it's from the sun and all. They're so annoying."

James grabbed her hand and kissed her lips quickly, "They're cute."

"Whatever you say." James kissed her again.

"I do say."

Lily sighed as James began to rub her back lightly, "Do you think that they've told Remus what happened yet?" She asked.

"I dunno." James replied, "They usually go get Remus pretty early in the morning, so they may have."

"Where does that tunnel go?" Lily asked.

"The Shrieking Shack."

"The Shrieking Shack? But isn't it supposed to be haunted?"

James kissed her nose, "It's supposed to be, but it's not."

"I've heard the villagers say that they hear all sorts of noises coming from it at night."

"Remus. He goes there to transform and he's the one who makes all the noise. Dumbledore encourages the rumor that it's haunted."

"Huh. When did you find out about him?"

"I've had suspicions since first year, but I didn't know for sure until second year." James replied.

"So you've known almost the whole time?"

"Well, it was pretty hard not to notice that Remus was missing one night a month, every month."

"But, you didn't tell anyone, didn't stop being his friend or anything."

James looked at her questioningly, "No, it's not his fault, he didn't ask to be a werewolf, and it's not like he's a werewolf all the time. He just has…"

"A problem, yeah I get it."

James kissed her again, "Not many people think that way. You're not going to hurt him are you?"

Lily watched him, "You really care about him, don't you?" She watched as James made a face and punched him lightly, "I meant in a brotherly kind of way."

"He's one of my best friends."

Lily kissed him, "No, I'm not going to hurt Remus."

"Okay, good, er, there's something else that you should know." James said looking nervous.

"You're a vampire?"

"How did you guess?" James said sarcastically, "Seriously, you have to swear not to tell anyone."

"Okay." Lily said slowly.

"I mean it, you can't tell anyone Lily. Not Emily, not Alice, not Dorcas, not Marlie, not even Dumbledore. You have to swear."

Lily looked at him for a moment, "Okay, I swear I won't tell anyone."

"Okay then; I'm an animagus."

"No you're not." Lily said rolling her eyes. "There's only been seven this century, McGonagall might be one, but you're not."

"There may only be seven animagi _registered_, but I am one."

Lily sat up, "You're an _unregistered animagus_? James, you could be sent to Azkaban for that."

"I know."

"Why? When? _How_? You're only seventeen; I don't think anyone's done it that young before."

"I've been an animagus for a little over a year." Lily gaped at him, "After I found out about Remus, I started looking into ways to help him. I came across something that said that werewolves weren't a danger to animals. Then Sirius said something about how it was too bad that we couldn't turn ourselves into animals then."

"Sirius is an animagus too?" Lily asked awed.

"Shit, I didn't mean to tell you that."

"I won't tell." Lily said. "What about Peter and Gideon?"

"Peter is, but Gideon's not. He didn't want a part of it, but he did help us research a bit."

"Wow."

"It took us three years before we were ready to transform. I was so scared that we'd done something wrong and we were all going to die. But it worked out in the end."

"What kinds of animals are you?"

"Peter is a rat, which comes in handy, because he can run under the branches of the Whomping Willow. Sirius is a dog; he looks a bit like the grim really. And I'm a stag."

"Wow." Lily said again. "And you did it for Remus?"

"Yeah, we visit him when he's in the Shack. If he's there by himself all he does is scratch and bite at himself, so at least when we're there his transformations go easier on him."

"I think I may have pegged you wrong all those years." Lily said kissing him.

James pulled back slightly, "What?"

"To do something that dangerous so that you could help Remus, it's, well, it's amazing." Lily answered pulling James into another kiss.

James shifted so that Lily was under him, his legs on either side of hers, "I really like this." He murmured.

Lily laughed, pulled his jumper over his head. "I'm sure you do."

James chuckled, helped Lily out of her jumper, "This is the part, where you say that you like it too."

Lily grinned as she unbuttoned his shirt, pushed it off, "Who says I do?" She gasped as James nipped at her neck.

"I think that says it all." James muttered against her neck.

"If you leave another love bite I'll…"

James kissed her lips again, quickly undid Lily's shirt and removed it. His breath caught in his throat when he saw her pink, lacy, and mostly see through bra. "You'll what?" He asked before he descended on her neck again, sucked just hard enough to leave a mark.

"Er…" Lily said, James' hand was kneading her breast, and she was having a hard time thinking.

He chuckled against her skin as he placed kisses over her shoulder, "That's what I thought."

A haze was settling over Lily as James made his way from her neck to her breasts. Lily gasped when James dipped his tongue inside her bra, and tangled her fingers into his hair. Lily moaned as James placed wet, open mouthed kisses across her stomach, as he circled her navel with his tongue.

She lifted her hips as James tugged her skirt down, moaned as his teeth scraped across her hip bone. "James!" She cried out as he settled himself between her thighs; her eyes sprang open when she felt his hardness against her inner thigh.

Lily looked into James' eyes as he dipped his head to kiss her again, "You are so beautiful." He murmured against her mouth.

Lily looked away, "I'm not."

James grabbed her chin, turned it towards him, "Gorgeous." He kissed her again, moved his hand to the front clasp of her bra.

Lily grabbed James' hand, "Wait."

James stopped, looked down at her, "Do you want to stop?"

Lily blushed, "No. Yes. Maybe. I dunno."

James blinked, "Er, okay. That's only a little bit confusing." But he moved his hand, placed both of his hands on either side of her head and kissed her lightly.

"I'm sorry." Lily muttered looking away.

"Lily." James said, "Look at me." She turned her head to him, "Don't be sorry, if you're not ready, you're not ready. I can wait, I've waited two years, I can wait some more."

Tears filled Lily's eyes, "It's not… It's just…" Lily stopped, took a deep breath, "I've, er, never done this before." She saw James' eyes widen, watched them darken, "I'm just a little nervous."

James kissed her again, "Neither have I."

Lily felt her own eyes widen in shock, "You, you haven't? Why, I thought…" Lily babbled.

James laughed lightly, "No, there was only one person I was interested in enough to do it. I didn't want to shag someone just to shag them; it's supposed to mean something, especially the first time. So, I've waited, for you."

Lily looked up at him, "Oh, wow." She muttered as her hands slowly made their way to the buckle of his pants.

James stopped her, "Lily, that wasn't so you'd sleep with me, that was the truth. I can, and I will wait. It doesn't have to be now."

Lily's hands continued to unbuckle his belt, unzip his pants, "I know."

James gulped, kissed her slowly, then stood up to let his pants pool around his feet. He waved his wand and dozens of candles appeared. "There's supposed to candles." Then he tapped himself with his wand. Lily looked at him curiously, "Contraception charm."

Lily remembered Emily's story of their twelve children, and giggled. James raised an eyebrow, "You're not supposed to laugh at a time like this." He said as he settled himself back on the bed.

"Sorry." Lily murmured looking shyly up at him.

James brushed a stray lock of hair gently away from her face, "I've imagined this so many times, I've lost count."

Lily rubbed her hand across his cheek, "Me too." She whispered.

"What?" James asked surprised.

"I've fancied you since the beginning of the year."

"You have?"

"Yeah."

James grinned then kissed Lily gently. This time when his hand moved to the clasp of her bra she didn't stop him.

Lily hissed out a breath when James pushed slowly inside her. James fought every instinct in his body to stop moving and instead bent to kiss her softly, "I'm sorry baby, it's only for a minute."

Lily slowly opened her eyes, looked into James', "I know." When she began to lift her hips to his, James started thrusting. And when Lily fell, screaming, over the edge she took James with her.

* * *

James rolled so that Lily was sprawled over his chest. "Wow." 

Lily sighed, "That about covers it." She closed her eyes, "James."

"Hmm?"

"How did you know how to do a contraception charm?"

"Oh, er, dad." James said uncomfortably.

Lil propped herself up on James' chest so that she was looking down at him, "Your dad taught you a contraception charm?"

James shifted uncomfortably, "Yeah, the summer before last. He and mum decided that since I was almost sixteen that we should have _the_ talk."

Lily giggled, "So he taught you a contraception charm?"

"Yeah." James sighed, "It was one of the most uncomfortable moments of my life. He said that while he and mum would prefer that I wait, they knew that not everyone did. And that they'd rather I be 'safe than stupid', I think he said, so he taught me the charm." Lily shook her head in disbelief. "What didn't your mum have _the_ talk with you?"

"Please don't make me relive that." Lily mumbled. "But my mum didn't start handing birth control after she was done."

James shrugged, "To each his own I suppose. It did come in handy though, didn't it?" He grinned.

Lily smiled back and settled herself back on James' chest. "Yes, I suppose it did."

She shivered as James ran his hand up and down her back, "I wish we could stay here all day."

"I know, me too." Lily murmured.

"But, we're going to have to go to our rooms so that we can get ready for our meeting with Dumbledore." James looked at his watch, "We're going to have to hurry as it is, we've only got an hour before we have to be in his office."

"Back to the real world." Lily sighed. She winced and sucked in a breath as she rolled off of James.

"Are you okay?" James asked worriedly.

She grabbed the sheet, wrapped it around her, "I'm fine, just a little sore is all."

James leaned over, kissed her shoulder, "Are you sure?"

Lily turned her head and kissed James lightly, "Yeah, I'm okay."

They dressed quickly; stealing quick glances at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking. "James, how are we going to get back without anyone seeing us?"

He grinned, "We'll use The Marauder's Map."

"Is that what you used last night to find Snape?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, we made it, the guys and me. It shows all of Hogwarts, the secret passages and everything, all of the passwords too. And the best part is that it shows where everyone in the castle is, so that way you can see who's around you, here let me show you." James said as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Shit."

"What?" Lily asked looking confused.

"I think I lost it last night." James replied. "Damn it. That was bloody hard to make."

Lily stood on her toes to kiss James lightly, "I'm sorry."

He grinned goofily, "If it means I can do that now I'll consider it a fair trade."

Lily smiled, "Come on, we'd better go shower and change before we meet Dumbledore."

The hurried to the common room, ducking around corners and giggling when they saw anyone. They managed to get to the common room without incident, "I'll meet you back down here in half an hour?" James asked.

"Okay." Lily crept into her dorm, thankful that her roommates were heavy sleepers, grabbed fresh clothes, and slipped into the bathroom. She hummed the tune of 'The Shoop Shoop Song' happily her entire time in the bathroom.

Lily stepped out of the shower and dressed quickly. She combed out her hair, then using her comb as a microphone and shaking her hips, sang, "If you wanna know. If he loves you so. It's in his kiss. Oh, it's in his kiss. Whoa, hug him and squeeze him tight. Find out what you wanna know. If it's love, if it really is. It's there in his kiss." She didn't even mind when she saw the red mark on her neck in the mirror. In fact she grinned and hummed louder than before; though she did cover the love bite before stepping out of the bathroom.

She walked out of the bathroom to see four pairs of eyes staring at her curiously. "Why are you so happy?" Dorcas asked.

Lily shrugged, "No reason."

"You're singing." Marlie said suspiciously.

"So?"

"So, you don't sing." Emily replied, "Not ever."

"I sing sometimes."

"Not when anyone's around." Emily answered.

Lily shrugged again, "I'm happy."

"What'd you do on patrol last night, shag James?" Alice asked yawning.

The smile fell off from Lily's face. "No. Listen, I'll see you guys later, I have a thing with Dumbledore and I don't want to be late."

They watched her leave the room quickly, "That was definitely odd."

Lily walked down the stairs to find James sitting, staring at the fire. "You alright?" She asked sitting on the arm of the chair he was in.

James shook his head, "Remus was awake, he wouldn't even look at me, never mind talk to me."

Lily kissed the top of his head, "I'm sorry, I'm sure he'll understand eventually."

"I hope so. Come on; let's head on down to Dumbledore's office."

James and Lily walked slowly, the lightheartedness from the morning long gone. "Do you know why he wants to see us again this morning?" Lily asked.

"I have an idea, but I don't want to say anything, just in case I'm wrong."

Lily looked at him questioningly, "Do you think it has to do with why you've been having secret meetings with Dumbledore all year?"

"I'm not sure, but, yes I think that it might." James replied. "Licorice stick."

Lily took a deep breath before knocking on Dumbledore's door, she looked at James, "You ready?"

"Yeah."

"Come in." Called Dumbledore after Lily had knocked. "James, Lily, good, thank you for coming so early this morning." He said eyes, twinkling. "Please, sit down." James and Lily each took a seat in the squishy armchairs across from Dumbledore. "I want you both to know that for your actions last night I am going to be awarding each of you awards for special services to the school."

Lily and James looked at each other, "Thank you, sir." Lily said.

Dumbledore smiled at them, "What you did showed true moral character, especially considering neither of you get on particularly well with Mr. Snape. I'm proud of both of you."

Lily and James gaped at one another. "Sir," James said after he had recovered, "What's going to happen? With Remus, Sirius, and Snape?"

Dumbledore sighed, "As there was no physical harm done, there is no need to take Mr. Lupin out of school and he will of course be allowed to stay. Mr. Snape has been forbidden to tell anyone of Mr. Lupin's affliction. Again as there was no physical harm done to anyone, Mr. Black will also be allowed to remain in school. However, he is banned from Quidditch and Hogsmead; he'll also be serving detention every Saturday until the end of the year. And I've had to take two hundred and fifty points from Gryffindor for his actions."

Both Lily and James nodded gravely. "There is something else that I would like to discuss with the both of you. Lily as you may know James and I have been meeting over the course of this year."

"Yes, sir."

"What am about to ask of you Lily may very well put you in danger, but after your actions last night, I feel that you could be a great asset." Lily's brow furrowed in confusion. "I've formed a group that's sole purpose is to resist Voldemort, I call it The Order of the Phoenix."

Lily's eyes widened as she looked from Dumbledore to James and back. "I want in, I want to help."

Dumbledore smiled at her, "I had a feeling you might react like that. I want you to know that you will not be a full member,"

"But, I'm of age." Lily interrupted unable to help herself.

"Yes, I know, but as long as you are a student in this school you will not be made a full member of the Order." Dumbledore said gently. "You will be allowed certain information not generally known to the public, however, you will not be fully admitted until after you have left school, if that is still what you would like to do. Do you have any questions so far?"

"Yes," Lily said slowly, "if I'm not going to be fully admitted for another year, what is it that I can do?"

Dumbledore smiled again, "You, like James, will watch the happenings of the school. There are students in my school that are either working for Voldemort or prime candidates to do so. I would like to know which, if any, student is behaving oddly. I want to do my best to stop Voldemort from recruiting within Hogwarts."

"I'll do it." Lily said without hesitation.

"Lily, you should seriously consider this, you could be putting yourself in danger."

"With all do respect, sir, I don't need to think about it. What Voldemort is doing is wrong, he needs to be stopped. He's counting on people being too scared to do anything to stop him, and mostly they have been. That's why he's been getting away with as much as he has. People are getting to the point where they are terrified to even say his name. Even The Daily Prophet has been calling him He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, or You-Know-Who. And that just makes it worse doesn't it, if people are too afraid to say his name, how bad, how frightening must he be?"

Dumbledore smiled broadly, "Yes, very proud indeed." Dumbledore said softly, "You're right Lily; fear of a name does increase fear of the thing itself. I can see now, why James has been telling me to bring you in." Lily blinked and looked at James who was grinning proudly at her. "Now, the two of you should be off to breakfast. I'll send for you for our next meeting."

"You've really been asking Dumbledore to let me join?" Lily asked once they reached the corridor.

"Yeah, for quite some time now."

Lily kissed James lightly, "Thank you."

James smiled, "Lily I've got to ask you for a favor."

"Okay."

James pulled her into an empty classroom, "I wanted to know if you would mind keeping this, us, from people for now?" He asked nervously.

Lily narrowed her eyes. "Why?"

"Er, first because there are going to be a lot of rumors going around, and yes, I know that you don't care what people think, I don't particularly either," James said when Lily opened her mouth, "But I don't want those rumors to ruin this. What we have right now is so perfect, I've been waiting years to be with you and I don't want it to be…" James paused trying to find the right word, "Made to be less, because this is probably one of the most important things that've ever happened to me. I'm in love with you and…"

Lily's eyes went wide, "You're in love with me?"

James gulped, "Er, yeah." He mumbled.

"You're in love? With me?" Lily asked again, but this time she was grinning.

James, who now resembled a tomato, mumbled, "Yes."

Lily threw herself into his arms, kissed him soundly on the mouth, "I'm in love with you too."

James grinned, "Yeah?"

She looked up, "Yeah, you idiot." She said rubbing a hand over his messy hair.

James picked her up off the ground and spun her around, "I hadn't meant to tell you so soon, you know."

"I'm glad you did." Lily replied. "What was the other reason that you didn't want to tell anyone about us?"

"Remus, he's got to be feeling pretty shitty right now with everything that's happened. I don't want to rub how happy I am in his face."

Lily sighed, "Alright, for how long?"

James shrugged, "I don't know, until this blows over a bit."

Lily nodded resolutely, "Okay. Let's head down to breakfast then."

When Lily and James walked into the Great Hall it was buzzing with whispered conversation. Everyone was talking about one of two things: how Gryffindor, who had been tied for first with Ravenclaw in house points, was suddenly down one hundred and fifty from the night before, and if that had anything to do with the fact that none of the Marauders were sitting together. Peter was sitting with Gideon and the sixth year girls, Remus was sitting on one end of the table not eating or talking to anyone, and Sirius was sitting at the other end snapping at anyone who came near him.

All conversation stopped when Lily and James walked into the hall, everyone waiting to see where they would sit. Lily squared her shoulders and walked to Remus, "Hi." She said softly.

Remus didn't acknowledge her, but rather, turned his back, got up, and left the hall, which caused a new flurry of whispers. Lily blinked furiously at the tears that welled in her eyes. James put a hand on her shoulder, squeezed, "Come on let's sit down."

"What the hell is going on?" Marlie demanded. "Remus and Sirius are in some moods, pissed at everyone. We're down a hundred and fifty points overnight and no one knows why. There's not even a likely rumor as to why, it has to be the first time in Hogwarts history that that's happened."

Lily shrugged, "Dunno."

"My ass." Sirius mumbled from the end of the table.

Both Lily and James threw him furious looks. "You know." Alice said.

"Maybe, but we can't tell anyone." James replied.

"Why not? I think that we should know why we're suddenly down one hundred and fifty points and practically out of the running for the house cup." Dorcas said.

"We _can't_." Lily responded.

"Well why the hell not? We're supposed to be friends." Gideon added.

"It has nothing to do with being friends." James started.

"Bloody right it has nothing to do with being friends." Sirius said standing behind them. "You don't know how to be a friend anymore, do you?" He demanded, "All that matters is Lily. For years now all we've heard is Evans this and Evans that. And now that she's finally deemed you worthy of her time, you fall at her feet and forget about your _real_ friends."

"MR. BLACK!" McGonagall yelled from the staff table, "THAT IS ENOUGH!" Sirius stormed away from the table and out of the hall.

"I'm going to catch up to him, make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." Peter said and scurried off.

James and Lily glanced at each other, both were thinking the same thing: _Too late_.

"Why the hell were you so happy this morning if you knew what was going on?" Marlie asked, "Merlin, Lily, what did you do?"

Lily, who was red in the face and already taking deep breaths, threw down her fork, "I DIDN'T DO _ANYTHING_!" She yelled. James placed a hand on her leg, squeezed it gently, she took another deep breath. "I didn't do anything." She said again. "I was in a good mood this morning, that's all. I didn't know about everything before."

"You had a meeting with Dumbledore?" Marlie asked.

"So?"

"So Dumbledore told you everything?" Marlie responded. "I guess we know who Dumbledore's favorites are, now don't we. Flawless Lily and Faultless James. I'm leaving." She said to the rest of them, "The rest of us obviously aren't needed in their circle of perfection."

"Marlie." Dorcas called. "That's a bit harsh don't you think?"

Marlie glanced back, "No."

Dorcas sighed, "I'm going to go after her."

"Bloody hell." Lily said rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"If you just said what happened Lily…" Alice started.

"I CAN'T!" Lily screamed again. She fought the need to throw something breakable and instead stormed out of the Great Hall and onto the Hogwarts grounds. James caught up with her, grabbed her arm, "Bloody hell Lily, I'm sorry, I didn't think about…"

"Stop, don't apologize for those prats." Lily said. "They know bloody well that I'd tell them if I could. They're just being selfish, immature, berks." Then Lily put her head in her hands and started sobbing.

"Baby, don't cry." James said pulling her into a hug. "It's going to be alright."

Lily clutched at his shirt, "James what am I going to do, they're my best friends, and they're so mad at me, especially Marlie. We've never fought like this before."

James stroked her back, "It's going to be alright, Lily. Isn't that what you told me last night?"

"Oh, James, I'm sorry, this is awful for you too."

"Don't worry about it; at least we still have each other." He whispered into her hair.

"Always." She murmured, "Always."

* * *

A/N: Read & Review, you know you want to... ;oD 


	9. Chapter 8

A/N: I'm not going to be able to update next weekend, I have to go to a party for one of my cousin's college graduation... Oh joy... All I can say about that is thank god I've got two brothers and two sisters to pass the time with. Anyway, since I'm not giong to be updating for two weeks I've made this chapter a bit longer than usual... Enjoy:)

* * *

_Truth and tears clear the way to a deep and lasting friendship. True friendship is never serene. – Mariede Svign_

_It takes two to speak the truth, one to speak and one to hear. – Henry David Thoreau_

**Chapter Eight**

James pulled Lily back slightly, "Lily, Marlie is going to get over this, once she comes to her senses and realizes that she's mad over house points."

"She's not mad over house points James, none of them are, annoyed perhaps, but not mad." Lily replied, looking up at James. "She's mad because I know why we lost the house points and I won't tell her anything about it."

"Yeah, but, she was looking for a fight when we sat down."

Lily took a deep breath and shrugged, she was still fuming, and knew she'd have felt better if Marlie hadn't walked away and they'd been able to have a proper row. "I guess."

James grabbed Lily's hand and tugged, "Come on."

She fell into step with him, "Where are we going?"

"For a walk."

"James, I don't want to just walk around. It's cold and it looks like rain."

James looked up, "Yeah, it is shitty today, but that fits doesn't it."

"So, let's go in then."

"No, we're going for a walk."

Lily felt her blood begin to boil again, she tried to yank her hand away from James, but he held tight. "I told you I don't want to go for a walk." She said slowly.

James shrugged, "Well we're going." He smiled to himself when she hissed out a breath. He knew that if he got her pissed enough she'd forget about Marlie for a little while.

"How _dare_ you." Lily hissed, "Who're you to tell me what to do?"

James stopped, pulled Lily to him with enough force to have her let out a muffled, "Oomph." Against his chest.

"I'm the guy who's in love with you. Now I'd suggest that we go for a run, but neither of us is dress for it at the moment. You need to work off your mad, so we're going for a walk until you calm down a bit."

Lily looked up at him and blinked, she could feel some of her anger draining away. "How do you know me so well already?" She muttered softly.

James wiped a tear off her cheek; he doubted she knew she was still crying, "I've been in love with you since I was fifteen."

Lily sobbed again, "James, I'm sorry. I know that you were just trying to help. I wasn't really mad at you."

"I know." He cupped her face in his hands, looked into her eyes for a bit, "Come on, let's go for that walk."

Lily let out a breath, "Alright."

They'd walked halfway around the grounds before either of them spoke again. "I want to tell Peter and Gideon." James said suddenly.

Lily sighed, "I thought you might."

"Are you okay with that?"

Her brow furrowed, "Why are you asking?"

"Because this involves you too. I'm going to tell my roommates, but you can't tell yours. I want to know if you're okay with that before I tell them."

Lily stopped walking and turned to James. "What if I said no?"

He blinked, "Then I'd have to tell you that I'm sorry, but I'm going to tell them anyway. They already know about Remus, and that's why Dumbledore told us not to tell anyone. Besides they deserve to know, it affects them more than your roommates."

Lily smiled slightly, "So, I guess it's a good thing that I don't mind then. And that I think you're right, they do need to know."

James stared at her for a minute, narrowed his eyes, "Then what the hell was that all about?"

Lily shrugged, "I wanted to make sure you wouldn't put me ahead of your friends when it came to something important like this."

"Is this about what Sirius said earlier?" She didn't answer, just shrugged again. "Lily."

"Okay, maybe. But…"

"Stop, you shouldn't listen to him when he's mad. Sirius has a nasty temper when he gets really angry, and doesn't always think about what he's saying." James said. "Lily, you're important to me, but so are my friends, and this has nothing to do with that. They need to know because it's the right thing to do."

Lily smiled at him slightly, "I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have tested you like that. I just didn't want to come between you and anymore of your friends."

"Lily, don't worry about it. Alright?"

"Alright."

"So, no more tests?"

"No, no more tests."

"Okay, good. Now, I think that you should come with me." James said.

"Where?"

James shook his head slightly, "You know for one of the smartest witches in our year, you can be very slow sometimes." But he kissed the side of her head gently to take the sting out of the comment. "To work out how to tell Gideon and Peter."

"That wasn't nice." Lily replied. "You want me to come with you?"

"Yeah, you where there and I wasn't. I'd rather them not hear about it second hand. Plus you should get to tell them yourself."

She looked up at him again, "Yeah, okay. Do you want to go tell them tonight?"

"Maybe, we need to get them alone, and everyone is going to be in the common room now. But, I think we should take a while to work out what we're going to say to them. This is going to be a delicate situation to say the least."

* * *

It was the last day before the break ended before James and Lily found their opportunity to speak with Gideon and Peter. They were sitting near the fire talking about their latest transfiguration essay when they saw Sirius storm down the stairs. He shot them a furious look before walking out of the portrait hole. "Lily, this is our chance. Peter and Gideon are the only ones up there right now." Lily nodded and they both quickly walked up to James' dorm.

They walked in to find Gideon lying on his bead reading a book and Peter sitting on the floor at the foot of his bed writing an herbology essay. They both looked up when James and Lily walked in. "Er, should we be leaving?" Gideon asked looking uncomfortably from James to Lily.

Lily blushed bright red, "No, James and I want to talk to the both of you."

Peter sat up, "Is this about what's going on with everyone?"

Lily looked at him and felt terrible, she knew that it had to be tough on the two of them; the strain was starting to show on their faces, and wished she could have told them sooner. "Yeah, it is."

Gideon closed his book, "I though you guys said that you couldn't tell us."

"You already know about the thing that makes it why we can't talk about it to anyone. And you deserve to know." James answered.

Peter looked pointedly at Lily, "I don't know what you're talking about. Maybe you should explain it to me later."

Lily smiled at Peter and his attempt to keep her from learning about Remus. "It's okay Pete, Lily knows."

Both Gideon and Peter gaped, "You told her?" Gideon asked shocked, "Is that what this is all about?"

"No. I didn't tell her." James replied. "Lily, I think that you should start at the beginning."

Lily took a deep breath and nodded as everyone turned to her, "James and I had seen Snape around the Whomping Willow last week."

"The day of the full moon?" Gideon asked.

"Yeah, the day of the full moon. And James had gotten really angry over it, I didn't know why, and frankly I didn't care overmuch, I just wanted Snape to get smacked around a bit, which he did, by the way." Lily said with enough smugness that Gideon grinned and Peter snickered a bit. "Anyway, later that night I had rounds; I was just about finished when I heard two people talking. I was about to tell them off for being out of bed, but I saw that it was Sirius and Snape. I ducked into an empty classroom so that I could hear what they were saying. Sirius was angry and said something to Snape about being near the Whomping Willow. Then he told him to go down to it and prod at the knot near the bottom with a stick. And told him to go down the tunnel."

Peter gasped and Gideon's jaw dropped slightly, "And you know that feeling you get when you know something bad is going to happen?" Both Gideon and Peter nodded, "Well, that was two people that day who were pissed about Snape being near that tree, so I went to find James and see what was going on. I told James what I had heard and he told me to go tell Dumbledore immediately, and he ran to go stop Snape. McGonagall was in Dumbledore's office when I got there, and when I told them what I had heard they both went rushing down there."

"I still had no idea what was going on, I knew it was bad, but I didn't know what. I was looking out the window trying to see what was going on and I noticed the full moon. That's when it hit me, that someone was a werewolf, it didn't take me long to figure out who." Lily let out a breath; it felt good to be able to tell someone about what had happened that night.

James picked up the story when she stopped, "After I left Lily I ran down to the Whomping Willow. Snape had already gone into the tunnel so I ran in after him. He was nearly at the Shrieking Shack when I got to him, I tried to pull him back, but he kept telling me to get the hell away and trying to pull away from me. It wasn't until he heard Remus that he freaked and took off in the other direction. I hadn't had a chance to follow him when I saw Remus. I guess Madam Pomfrey left the door open a little."

James watched as Lily's eyes went round, he hadn't told her this part. "I hexed him, but I knew it wouldn't last long, so I bolted. I had gotten three quarters of the way back when I nearly tripped over Snape, he'd fallen. I could hear Remus running along the tunnel, so I had to drag Snape out of there by his robes. We'd barely gotten out when McGonagall and Dumbledore came running down. They got Remus back to the Shack, then McGonagall brought Snape up to the hospital wing and went to go get Sirius. And I went back to Dumbledore's office with him."

"So that's why Sirius had detention the other night." Gideon said. "And Dumbledore only took off one hundred and fifty points? I would've thought he'd take off more."

"He did, but he also gave Lily and me fifty each."

"Hmm. I can't believe he was so stupid." Peter said.

"Well, isn't this cozy." Came a voice from the doorway. Remus was standing there looking angrier than he had in a long while. "Having a nice little chat about me then? Going to announce it to the school tomorrow?"

"What? No! Of course we wouldn't do that." Lily said, sincerely shocked that Remus would think it.

"Only because Dumbledore would expel you if you said anything." Remus shot back nastily.

Gideon shot off the bed, "Remus…"

But Lily stopped him with the shake of her head. Lily controlled the tremor in her voice, but she could do nothing with the tears welling in her eyes, except pray they wouldn't fall. "Do you really think so little of me?" She asked. When she got no answer she walked passed him and out of the dorm. She stopped at the door, "I thought you knew me better than that Remus." She said softly.

"That was uncalled for and you know it." James said. Remus shrugged, but he looked over his shoulder at Lily's retreating back.

Lily got to the bottom of the stairs as Sirius was coming up. "So is that how you've got James doing what you want now? A nice little quickie now and then?" Lily felt her face heat with embarrassment; the whole common room was looking at them. "No wonder he seemed so happy lately, it was about time that boy got some."

That's when anger took over. Lily swung her hand back and slapped Sirius as hard as she could. "DON'T PRETEND TO KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, WHEN YOU DON'T. YOU JUST LOOK LIKE A FOOL. THOUGH I SUPPOSE YOU SHOULD BE USED TO THAT." Lily shouted. "I'D TELL YOU TO GET THAT STICK OUT OF YOUR ASS, BUT IT OBVIOUSLY GIVES YOU A NICE LITTLE THRILL. SO WHY DON'T YOU JUST STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!"

The entire common room was staring at her wide eyed, but she was too angry to care. She spotted Marlie at the table near the fire doing an essay for transfiguration, and rounded on her. "AND YOU!" She yelled once she had stormed over. When Marlie didn't look up, Lily surprised everyone, herself included, by grabbing Marlie's textbook and hurling it in to the fire.

"HEY! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

"I THOUGHT WE WERE GOOD FRIENDS." Lily shouted. "BUT I GUESS IF SOMETHING LIKE HOUSE POINTS CAN COME BETWEEN US WE WERE NEVER REALLY FRIENDS IN THE FIRST PLACE." Lily was breathing hard and her face was red, but she made the effort to lower her voice, "So, you know what? I'm done. I'm done trying to be understanding, thinking how I would feel if our situations were reversed. You can go _fuck_ yourself for all I care." She hissed.

With that Lily turned on her heel and stomped up to her dorm, leaving a stunned common room in her wake. Marlie was staring at the stairs, where James was now standing, when Gideon sat down next to her, her transfiguration book in tow, "I fixed it for you."

"Thanks." She muttered.

"You need to talk to her. It's not her fault, she didn't do anything. And you'd have done the same if Dumbledore asked you not to say anything to anyone."

"I know." Marlie muttered. She picked up her books and walked over to James who was trying to figure out how to get up the girl's stairs. "It's never going to happen."

James looked at her, "I need to go talk to her."

"You really care about her a lot, don't you?" Marlie asked.

"Yes."

"I'm going up to talk to her; I'll tell her that you want to talk to her too."

James grabbed her arm, "Don't hurt her again; she's been through enough today." Marlie just nodded in response.

She opened the door to find Lily sobbing on her bed. "Go away." Lily muttered.

Marlie dropped her things on her bed, then sat down on Lily's, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so nasty to you. It's just house points, I just overreacted."

Lily sat up, "I'm sorry too, I'd tell you all if I could, but can't. I promised I wouldn't."

"I know." Marlie replied, crying now as well, "I would have done the same. It's just hard knowing that you knew something and couldn't tell us, I just felt, I dunno, left out I guess."

Lily threw her arms around Marlie, "It's not like that. I wouldn't know either if I hadn't been there. It was just a chance thing."

"I'm sorry I was such a bitch." Marlie sobbed.

"Me too."

Both girls turned at the soft knock at the door, "Are you guys okay now?" Dorcas asked poking her head in. "Or should we wait a little longer and wait for world war three to breakout?"

"No, we're okay." Marlie said and Lily nodded her head in agreement. Both girls dried their faces, "Oh, Lily, James is worried sick about you downstairs. I think you should go talk to him."

Lily looked at her friends, "I'll be right back, I think we need some girl time. Let me just go tell James that I'm okay."

Lily had barely gotten out of her dorm when she heard shouts coming from the common room. She hurried down the stairs to see a tight circle of people, most of whom were shouting. "What's going on?" She asked a second year girl who looked slightly frightened.

The girl looked up at her, "Sirius Black and James Potter are fighting?"

"What?" Lily gasped and hurried toward the group of people. She was nearly at the front when she heard a grunt and the sickening crunch of bone.

"Bloody buggering bastard." She heard Sirius groan.

Lily stopped, wide eyed, when she pushed passed the last person to the front of the circle. She watched in astonishment as James and Sirius rolled around cursing and hitting any part of the other they could find. A particularly nasty punch to James' face brought her out of her shock. "Why hasn't anyone tried to stop them?"

"They tried." A boy next to her said pointing to Gideon and a seventh year boy. Gideon was sporting a bloody nose and the seventh year boy was bleeding profusely from his lip.

"Bloody hell." Lily muttered. She thought for a minute, "Gideon, Michael, grab them when I separate them." She called.

"Be careful Lily." Gideon called back.

Lily waved her wand and had the two fighting boys flying apart. The seventh year boy with the bloody lip, Michael, grabbed Sirius, and Gideon grabbed James. Lily stepped between them, "That is enough. Both of you."

"Need a girl to come to your rescue, huh, Potter? Tell me, what does it feel like to have no balls?" Sirius said nastily.

"Fuck you." James called back.

"No thanks, we all know that Lily's taking care of that for you. But if you need to offer I guess you guys aren't doing it right. You do know that you're supposed to…"

"I said that is ENOUGH!" Lily shouted. "Take him somewhere else." She said to Michael who nodded at her.

"Come on, Sirius; let's get out of here for a while." He muttered dragging him out of the common room.

"Everyone else go somewhere else. The show's over." She walked slowly over to James who was now sitting on one of the couches.

"Lily, good, you're alright?" James asked when she sat down.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Lily asked. "What the hell was that all about?"

James shrugged, "I'm fine."

"James." Lily said softly, "What the hell happened?"

James blew out a breath, "After Marlie went upstairs Sirius came back down. He started saying shit about what a terrible friend I am, what a bitch you are…"

"And that's why you felt the need to try to beat the hell out of him?"

"No, as much as that pissed me off I would have let it slide. But he started saying all this stuff about us, you know, together."

"James," Lily said shaking her head, "He was saying that to me too when I was coming down the stairs."

"Not like this he wasn't." James replied. "It was pretty crude."

Lily stared at him for a minute, "Thank you for defending me, but, James, you can't get into fights with people every time they say something nasty about me."

James glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, "I could try."

Lily rolled her eyes, "You'd have to fight with most of Slytherin then."

"What?"

"Damn near all of them have called me a mudblood one time or another." James opened his mouth, but Lily interrupted, "Sometimes, James, you just have to let it pass."

He blew out another breath, "I know." Lily looked at him skeptically, "I do, it's just, I dunno, harder I guess because he's been my best friend since we were eleven years old."

Lily patted his hand, "I know. He was just trying to hurt you, you know. And I guess since the two of you are so close he knows best how to get to you."

"Yeah, logically I know that you're right. But, damn if I could help trying to kick his ass when he was say those things about you."

Lily sighed and put her head on his shoulder, "Thanks for trying to, what, defend my honor." She said tucking her tongue in her cheek.

James snickered slightly, "Shut up, you make me sound like some fifteenth century knight or something." Lily just smirked at him. "So how are you? You looked like you'd been crying."

Lily shook her head in astonishment, "How did you notice that when you were busy kicking Sirius' ass and having your ass kicked in return?"

"Well, I was a bit busy then, but after, when you separated us. Your eyes were still a bit red. And you were pale, that usually means you've been crying."

Lily shook her head again, "I'm okay. We just needed to get some things out."

James looked skeptical, "You're sure?"

She smiled, wanted to kiss him, but knew that everyone in common room was still watching them, even if they were pretending not to. "Yeah. I'm going to spend sometime upstairs for a while, we need some time together."

"You don't have to explain when you want to spend time with your friends, Lily." James replied.

"I know; I just wanted to let you know."

James smiled, "Do you want to do something later?"

"Yeah, I'd like that."

"Good, meet me down here at midnight."

Lily raised an eyebrow, "We're not allowed out that late."

He leaned down, "I'll bring my cloak." He whispered in her ear.

She closed her eyes as she shivered slightly, "Okay. I'll see you then."

James nodded as she got up and walked back up the stairs.

"What the hell was going on down there?" Emily asked. "Someone said that Sirius and James were beating the hell out of one another and that you stopped it."

"They were. Sirius was being an asshole and James, well, James was trying to be noble. They both wound up with some nasty bumps and bruises."

"Are you going to turn them into McGonagall?" Alice asked.

"No, I think it's best if all the professors are kept out of this."

They stared at her for a second, "Are you going to take any points off?"

"No, I think we've lost enough for the last little while."

"Aren't you supposed to do both?"

"Probably. But I'm not going to be the one to damage their friendship anymore than it already is."

"Alright." Dorcas said slowly. "So, the fight's been over for a while, what've you been doing down there?"

"I was talking with James for a while; I wanted to make sure he was okay."

"So, Lily, still just friends with him?" Marlie asked. The other girls waited for Lily's reaction before doing anything.

Lily flopped down on her bed and grinned, which caused the rest of them to raise their eyebrows at her, "So, Marlie, still shagging Ryan at every opportunity?"

Marlie grinned back, "Yep, and I have to thank you really, angry sex with Ryan is quite good."

Emily scrunched up her nose, "I don't think I wanted to know that."

They all giggled, "Way to dodge the question Lily, you're quite good at that you know." Dorcas said, "Though not as good as me, 'cause then, obviously, you'd have gotten away with it."

Lily smiled dreamily for a moment, "Promise you guys won't say anything."

All of the girls looked at Lily with surprise for a moment, then nodded in agreement. "Of course." Alice said.

"That night, the one when everything happened." The girls nodded, "He kissed me."

"Really kissed, or kissed in the sense that all you did was leave hickeys all over one another?" Emily asked.

"Really kissed."

"Did you kiss him back?" Dorcas asked.

"Yeah." Lily said smiling.

"Well?" Emily asked. "How was it?"

"Amazing." Lily answered.

"Aw, our little Lily's growing up." Alice said, wiping a fake tear out of her eye, "Snogging boys and everything."

"Oh, shut it you." Lily said tossing her pillow in Alice's direction, "I've snogged guys before."

"Not ones that put that dreamy smile on your face." Marlie said as Alice tossed the pillow back.

"He said I'm the best thing that's ever happened to him." Lily said in wonderment.

"Wow." Dorcas said softly.

"Yeah." Lily said dreamily.

"That's why you were singing in the shower that day, wasn't it?" Emily asked.

"Yeah, that and I didn't know you guys were awake yet."

"Lily, you were singing loud enough to wake the whole bloody tower. And let me tell you, that is not a nice sound to wake up to." Dorcas said grinning.

Lily grinned back, "Shove off."

"Come on Lily, you know it's true. There are loads of things that you're good at, singing isn't one of them."

"He makes me happy." Lily said simply.

"You're in love with him aren't you?" Marlie asked.

Lily looked at her for a moment, probably wouldn't have answered if she hadn't just gotten over a big row with her. "Yeah, I am."

Marlie hugged her tightly, "I'm _so_ happy for you."

"So how did everything go?" James asked once Lily had slipped into the common room later that night.

Lily was about to answer when she saw James face, his eye was back and his lip was swollen. "Why didn't you go to the Hospital Wing?"

"I didn't want to get Sirius in anymore trouble." James muttered. "Not that the wanker appreciates it."

Lily raised an eyebrow, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm okay, it looks worse than it is. I'm just a little bit sore."

Lily rubbed her thumb softly under his eye, and kissed his lips softly. "Are you sure?" She said stepping back.

"Yeah, I've been better, but I'll live. I already got rid of most of the bruises; these were the worst of them, so they didn't heal all the way. I'm going to take care of the rest of them in the morning after they've started to heal a bit on their own." James said. "Now, tell me how everything went with everyone?"

Lily smiled, "Great."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"I'm glad; I hate to see you so upset." James replied. "Now, come here so I can see how to fit the cloak over both of us."

Lily walked to him, giggled softly when he pulled her flush against him. "I don't think we need to be this close."

"Who wants to take chances?" James replied, looping an arm around her waist. "Besides, I like having you close to me."

Lily grinned goofily, turned her head as they stepped out of the portrait hole, "Maybe I like having you close to me too."

James pulled her into an empty classroom a few floors down, "How close do you like me?"

Lily gulped at the look on his face, "Very."

James grinned, shoved her against the wall, and kissed her soundly. James had pulled her shirt off and was busy kissing her neck before Lily was able to form words. "Do you know how often we wind up against walls?" She gasped out.

James looked down at her flushed face, "Now that you mention it." He threw his shirt somewhere in the direction that he'd thrown hers. "Are you complaining?"

"Definitely not." Lily giggled bringing his face back down to hers. Her giggle ended on a moan when she felt his fingers sneak their way under her skirt, and into her.

"Bloody hell." Lily gasped a long while later. James was still pinning her to the wall, her legs were still wrapped around his waist, and he was still inside her. "Do you think it's always like that?"

James grinned into her neck as he felt her legs slide down his hips, "Merlin I hope so."

Lily giggled again, "Jesus, I don't think I can stand right now."

"I'll take that as a complement." Lily rolled her eyes. "But, I have to tell you if it wasn't for this wall, I don't think I'd be standing either."

Lily grinned, "I'll take that as a complement."

James kissed her swollen lips lightly, "It was meant as one." A few minutes of silence later James shivered, he looked down to see Lily covered in Goosebumps. "You're cold."

"Mm. A little." Lily muttered.

He pulled her away from the wall, found his wand, "Accio clothes." A pile of clothes landed in front of him, "Let's get dressed before we get sick."

When they were done, James draped his invisibility cloak over them, "We should head back. We can talk when we get back to the common room; it's quite cold in here."

Lily smiled, looked over her shoulder, "That didn't stop you before."

James smirked, "I doubt anything could stop me from wanting you."

Lily's eyes widened, but she didn't say anything until they were back in the common room. "Where do you come up with those things?"

"What things?"

Lily shot him a look, "You know what things. You say these things and I go all gooey inside."

James grinned at her, glanced around, and kissed her lips lightly, "I only have to tell you the truth."

They both sat down on the couch, his arm around her. "There you go again." They were both quite for a minute, "Do you think we'll still be able to win the House or Quidditch Cups?"

James blinked, "Where did that come from?"

Lily shrugged, "Just curious."

He shook his head, "You come out with the most random things sometimes. We might still be able to win the Quidditch cup, but I doubt that we'll get the House one."

"Yeah, one hundred and fifty points takes a long time to make up, and I don't think we've that much time. How're we going to win the Quidditch cup though, aren't you down a beater?"

"I've a reserve beater. He can play. He's not as good as Sirius, but he should do alright."

"You've got a reserve beater?"

"Yeah, there's one reserve for every position. I thought it would be a good idea incase anyone was sick or hurt."

"That's a really good idea."

"I thought so."

Lily smiled at him, kissed him softly, "We'd better get to bed, Professor Sprout isn't going to like it if we're late tomorrow."

"Yeah you're probably right." They stood up, walked to the stairs, "Goodnight Lily."

"Goodnight James."

* * *

The morning of the Quidditch match against Slytherin Lily woke up to an owl watching her every move. "Blimey." She gasped.

"Yeah, it's been doing that for the past twenty minutes." Alice said.

Lily glanced over as she took the letter from the owl. "Thanks for getting the letter and making the creepy owl go away."

Alice grinned, "Then I would have missed your face when you woke up. Where's the fun in that?" She raised an eyebrow when Lily burst out laughing, "What's so funny?"

"My sister's getting married."

"Why is that so funny?"

"To Vernon Dursley. The guy you saw on the platform when you went to Em's for Christmas."

"Walrus man?"

Lily giggled again, "Walrus man."

"When?" Alice asked.

"Er," Lily looked down at the letter again, "it doesn't say specifically, just says sometime this summer. And, bloody hell." Alice raised an eyebrow, "I'm supposed to be in the wedding. I bet she makes me wear a hot pink dress."

"Aw, Lily, don't you want to wear hot pink? We all know it would look nice and pretty with your hair."

Lily glanced over to Dorcas who was just waking up, "Yeah, the only thing better would be if she'd pick out a nice orange." Lily replied sarcastically.

By the time Lily had gotten into the bathroom she was starting to feel nervous about the match. She had faith in James, but she had seen Slytherin practicing the day before, and they were good. She took a fast shower and quickly got dressed. Lily shook Emily awake before heading down the stairs; she knew that James always got up early on Quidditch days.

"Hey."

"Hey." James said looking up from a Quidditch book grinning.

"Why are you so happy?" Lily asked.

"I made some progress today."

"What kind of progress?"

"Remus talked to me. Sure it was only to a one word answer to a direct question, but, hey, considering it's the first time he's spoken to me in a month, it's good news."

Lily smiled, "Yes, it is. I'm happy for you. What did you ask him?"

"I asked if he wanted me to wait for him to go down to breakfast, and not only did he look at me, but he said 'no'."

Lily smiled slightly, "Is it weird that I'm really happy that Remus said he doesn't want to go down to breakfast with you?"

"Not at all, _I'm_ happy that Remus said he didn't want to go down to breakfast me. And just think soon enough he'll come around with you. Pretty soon you, too, can get monosyllabic answers as well."

Lily smiled, but James saw the hurt flash in her eyes, he grabbed her hand, squeezed, "Lily."

She shook her head, "Do you want to go down to breakfast or are you going to stay here?" Lily asked.

"I think I'm going to stay here, wait for the rest of the team, and make sure they're all up soon. We can't afford to be down anymore players."

"Yeah, that's what I figured." Lily said ruffling up his hair.

James looked up at her for a moment, "You do that a lot."

"So?"

"I thought you hated it when I did that."

Lily grinned, "I do. But I like it when I do it."

James smiled, placed a kiss to the back of her hand, "I'll see you down at the pitch?"

"Yeah, I'll be there. Good luck."

"Thanks, I think we're going to need it." James replied.

Lily quickly glanced around and seeing no one, kissed James quickly on the lips. "You'll do great."

Lily grinned on her way down to the Great Hall. The smile fell from her face when she saw Remus. She knew he spotted her when he turned abruptly and headed in the opposite direction. "Bloody hell." She muttered, then jogged after him. "Remus!" But it was no use; he kept walking as if he hadn't heard her. "Remus!"

After the fourth time she called him, to no avail, Lily whipped out her wand. She watched, with no small amount of satisfaction, as Remus went rigid and fell over. "I love non-verbal spells." She walked over to him and levitated him into an empty classroom. "Now Remus, I have some things I'm going to say to you. I'll unpetrify you, however, if you make one move towards that door, or so much as open your mouth I will petrify you again."

Lily waved her wand again, "Sit down." She demanded. Remus sat and didn't say anything. "First of all, this is ludicrous. You've been acting like a bleeding wanker." Remus opened his mouth and Lily narrowed her eyes, "So help me god, Remus, if you interrupt me." His mouth closed. "I realize that you're upset or embarrassed or whatever about your, er, issue. But, blimey, come on, this is ridiculous, you're not a bloody leper."

"Lily, I'm a werewolf." Remus spit out disgustedly, unable to control himself.

"And I suppose that's your fault. Went out one night and thought, 'Hey, I know what would be great fun, if I was bitten by a werewolf so I could be one too.'" She hissed.

"Why would you want to be around me?" Remus asked dejected.

"You're stupid." Lily muttered, "Flaming stupid. Get it through your thick skull; I don't give a fucking rat's ass if you're a werewolf. So, okay, I'm not going to go frolicking around the grounds with you on nights of the full moon, but as we never did that before, I don't see it being much of an inconvenience."

Remus gaped at her, "You're serious. You still want to be my friend even though, I'm a monster."

Lily shook her head, pressed her fingers to her eyes, "Bloody, thick headed, git." She took a deep breath, "Yes, I'm serious. If I wasn't I wouldn't have tried to talk to you at every opportunity for the past month. And Merlin's beard, you're not a monster, you just, er, have an ailment. It's not something you asked for; it's something that was out of your control." Remus could only stare at her. "Though if you tell me you wanted to be bitten because you get a nice thrill out of pain, well, then I'm going to have to go."

Remus snorted, "You caught me, I'm a closet masochist." He muttered. "If you're really my friend you'd crucio me, that way I could get off."

Lily cringed, "I really didn't need to know that."

"You brought it up."

"I suppose I did." Lily looked at him for a moment, "Do me a favor?"

"What?"

"Talk to James. He misses you."

"Lily, I can't. I just… I can't."

"Please. He risked his life that night to keep anything from happening. You're one of his best friends and that's what has him so off, you not talking to him. So please, try to talk to him."

He nodded, "Alright. I'll try and talk to James."

"Good, I'll see you at the match?"

"I dunno, I don't think…"

"I'll see you at the match." Lily said more forcefully.

"Yeah, I'll see you at the match."

Lily practically skipped all the way down to the Quidditch Pitch, though she was disappointed that the match had already started. _But_, she thought_ being friends with Remus certainly makes up for it. And James'll understand why I'm late._

She climbed the stairs quickly and found a spot next to Emily. "Where were you?" Emily hissed.

Lily grinned, "Talking to someone."

"Who? Who could be more important than this match right now? If we lose _Slytherin _will win the Quidditch Cup."

Before Lily could answer Remus stepped into the stand, "Hey guys, is there anymore room?"

They all gaped at him, "Er, yeah, budge over a bit Peter." Dorcas said. When they all looked to Lily, she grinned and gave them a thumbs-up. "Figures." Dorcas muttered to Marlie. "No one can stay mad at her for long." But, she too was smiling.

"So what's the score?" Remus asked.

"We're down by fifty." Gideon said, "Slytherin has two hundred, we've got one fifty."

"And Potter has the Quaffle." Came the announcer's voice, "He's streaking down the pitch, it doesn't look like anyone can keep up with him… Oh, Potter drops the Quaffle as he's forced into a barrel role to avoid a bludger hit by Yaxley. Burke grabs the Quaffle which is hit out of his hands by Humphrey. It looks like she's going to crash into Bulstrode, but no, she's dodged Max, she goes left, no feints, goes right, Gryffindor scores!"

Three quarters of the stadium cheered, "And it's Bulstrode in possession, he passes to Burke, who passes back to Bulstrode, and it's over to… No, Potter's intercepted the Quaffle! Gryffindor in possession! Potter dives under the Slytherin chasers, it's only the keeper and Potter, he shoots, and oh, it's blocked by Regulus Black. Black passes to Burke, who, ouch that has to hurt, takes a bludger to the face, courtesy of Gryffindor's reserve beater, Jonathan Weiss. Humphrey's got possession again, she doges one, no both bludgers, that's some nice flying. And it's over to Potter who shoots again, and GOAL! Two hundred Slytherin, One Seventy Gryffindor."

All of Gryffindor was on their feet, cheering. "What's this on the other end of the pitch? They've seen the snitch!" Everyone held their breath, "They're flying right at each other, holy god, they're going to crash. But wait, Zeller pulls up! ZELLER PULLS UP AND MORGAN GETS THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS! THREE TWENTY GRYFFINDOR, TWO HUNDRED SLYTHERIN. THAT'S JUST ENOUGH TO PUT GRYFFINDOR INTO FIRST PLACE! GRYFFINDOR GETS THE CUP! GRYFFINDOR GETS THE CUP!"

Lily was jumping up and down hugging Emily, "We beat the little bastards." Emily screamed.

"Bloody right we did!" Somebody yelled.

"WE BEAT SLYTHERIN! WE BEAT SLYTHERIN! WE BEAT SLYTHERIN!" Lily couldn't tell who started singing it, but it wasn't long before three quarters of Gryffindor was joining in, herself included.

She smiled as Remus hauled Dorcas into the air and spun her. "SEE I TOLD YOU TO COME DOWN." She shouted.

"YOU WERE RIGHT. QUIDDITCH IS GOOD FOR THE SOUL."

They flooded the pitch, everyone trying to pat the Gryffindor players on the back or shake their hands. Lily's eyes locked with James' though she couldn't get to him. 'Later.' He mouthed. Lily nodded her head in agreement.

They stayed long after the match was over, only being made to leave when someone started chanting, "SLYTHERIN SUCKS BALLS!" The chant had become quite popular, with most of Gryffindor, and about half the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws joining in. McGonagall looked appropriately annoyed when she told them all to go to their common rooms, but as she didn't take off any points, Lily had a sneaking suspicion that she felt the same way.

"My favorite part, aside from the winning, of course," Alice said, "was Burke's bludger to the face. I could relive that over and over again."

Marlie laughed, "That's because you're one sick individual Alice."

"Damn right. Come on tell me you didn't get a nice thrill out of watching that prat's nose break."

Marlie nodded her head in agreement, "You got me there."

"You would think he'd be used to that by now." Dorcas said barely containing a giggle. When the other girls looked at her strangely she continued, "With all the balls he's usually got in his face, who'd have thought one more would break his nose." Snickering, the five girls climbed through the portrait hole.

The party in Gryffindor tower was, if anything, more exuberant than the one outside. "Whoa." Emily said looking around, "Where'd all this stuff come from?"

Lily looked around at all the food and drinks covering every available surface, "Probably from the kitchens."

"Thank you captain obvious." Emily muttered. Then she grinned, "This is bloody fabulous."

Lily was looking around, again, for James when she felt an arm go around her waist and a cloak drop over her body. "What if someone saw?"

"Don't worry no one did." James muttered into her ear.

Lily turned, grinning from ear to ear. "Good match."

"Thanks."

She kissed him soundly on the mouth, then sniffed at his throat. James laughed, "What the hell?"

"Christmas." Lily said amazed.

"What?"

"You smell like Christmas."

"Right. Anyway, wanna go upstairs and fool around?"

Lily rolled her eyes, "Sure why not."

James' mouth dropped open, "Seriously? I was only kidding."

"Well if you don't want to…"

"Of course I want to, I always want to." James said pulling her, laughing, up the stairs. When they got to his dorm James took the invisibility cloak off and hefted Lily over his shoulder. He dropped the cloak on the floor near his bed and Lily onto it. Still giggling, Lily did a silencing charm while James pulled the hangings closed.

* * *

"You'd think that McGonagall would have given us a break after we won the cup, she's into Quidditch enough." Dorcas said glancing over at Lily. "But no, the first thing that she does is give us a project to do, the bloody term is almost over."

"I wish." Lily responded.

"Just think, this time last week we were getting ready to go down to the pitch and this week we have to go right to the library after we eat breakfast."

"Tell me about it, I really don't…" Lily broke off when James popped out from behind a tapestry, "James?"

"Merlin's beard!" Dorcas called, "You scared the crap out of me. I didn't know that there was a door behind that tapestry."

"Yeah." James said slightly out of breath, "It's a shortcut from right outside of the common room to here."

"Huh. Who knew, but I think I'll be using it from now on, because, hey, five more minutes of sleep in the morning." Dorcas said grinning.

"Lily I need to talk to you." James said grabbing her hand and pulling her down the corridor.

"James, what, stop, I'm going down to breakfast, can't this wait?"

"No, I need to talk to you right now." Lily's struggles didn't stop him, but he had slowed down a bit.

Lily glanced over her shoulder, "I'm sorry. I'll catch up to you later."

Dorcas grinned, "No problem. Don't forget to use protection." She called down the corridor.

Lily rolled her eyes, "Great, now Dorcas thinks we're shagging."

"We are."

She waved her free hand, "That's not the point. Besides I thought that you didn't want anyone to know about us for a while."

"Right now I'm too happy to care."

"What happened? Where are we going by the way?"

"The Room of Requirement. I want some privacy."

Lily raised an eyebrow, "Do you now." She said dryly.

James grinned as the blank stretch of wall became a door. "Yep." He said and dragged her inside. Lily was about to say something, but James had pulled her and kissed her soundly. "Thank you."

Lily blinked twice in an attempt to bring her eyes back into focus, "I'm not sure what for, but I feel like I should be the one thanking you." James grinned and kissed her again. "James if you keep doing that I'm not going to be able to participate in any sort of conversation."

James grinned, if possible, more broadly. "Remus talked to me."

Lily's hand which was resting on James' shoulder, tightened into a fist. "He did? What did he say?"

"Yeah, he said that the two of you had a little chat last weekend and that besides making him feel like a dumbass, good job by the way, it's really hard to do that, that you convinced him to talk to me again. So thank you, for getting one of my best friends to talk to me. We've still got some things to work out and I'm not sure if it's ever going to be the same as it was before, but we're friends again."

Lily smiled up at him, "I'm so happy for you." James kissed her again and pushed her onto one of the couches in the room.

* * *

While Lily was patrolling the last night before everyone went home for the holiday her mind kept wondering. The only thing interesting that had happened the past month and a half was when James had snogged her senseless a couple of days after the Quidditch match. He wanted to thank her for getting Remus to talk to him again. Though the two were still sometimes awkward around each other, they were friends again. James had done more than snog her, repeatedly, to thank her for that.

She was smirking when she ran into Sirius. "You're in a good mood Evans. Satisfied that you've got all my friends pissed and still not talking to me?"

Lily narrowed her eyes, "I didn't want your friends to be pissed at you."

"Could have fooled me, I see how you wormed your way in there once I was gone."

"You're retarded. I don't nor have I ever wanted to _replace_ you."

Sirius snorted in disbelief, "Yeah right." He said pushing past her.

"You little berk. I used to admire you, you know." Sirius stopped dead, whirled around. "The family you came from, everyone knows that they're awful. And I used to think it was amazing how you could be so strong, even as a child to know that everything that they ever said to you was hate-filled lies. That you were courageous enough to go back to that and stand up for what you believed in."

Sirius gaped at her, his was mouth moving, but nothing was coming out. "But, I guess I was wrong, you're just as bad as they are. I guess the sorting hat must have made a mistake, they say there's a first time for everything, and I guess that's what happened with the sorting hat." Lily hissed.

Sirius grabbed her arm when she went to storm passed him, "I'm nothing like them." He spat.

Lily looked up at him and yanked her arm free. "You could have fooled me. You nearly _killed_ Snape, and you don't even _care_."

"Snape did not almost die."

"Really, what usually happens when someone meets a fully grown werewolf? Do they have a nice chat then?"

"Snape would have run once he heard Remus."

"What if he didn't?"

"What?"

"What if he didn't?" Lily asked again.

"He would've run when he saw him then. Evans what do you think people usually do when they see a werewolf? He would have been scared shitless and he would have left Remus alone from then on."

Lily blinked, something just dawning on her, "You were trying to protect him, weren't you?" She asked softly.

"Remus? Of course. With a little bit of revenge on Snivellus mixed in."

"What if he wasn't fast enough to get away Sirius?" Lily asked softly.

Sirius blinked, "I, er," His brow furrowed, "he would have been."

"Do you know what would have happened if Remus had gotten to Snape." Sirius paled, "Not only could Snape be dead, but you and Remus would be out of Hogwarts. So would Dumbledore."

"Dumbledore wouldn't be out, they couldn't." Sirius said slowly. "It would have been my fault."

"Yes, it would have been. But Dumbledore let Remus in knowing about him. And with Dumbledore gone, Hogwarts wouldn't be nearly as safe as it is now. The only reason Voldemort doesn't attack here is because of Dumbledore. Just like he waits until we're all home before he has his followers attack homes. It's no fun if all the witches and wizards between the ages of eleven and eighteen are safe." Lily put her hand to his cheek, "Think about it."

Sirius watched her retreating back, "Oh, shit." He muttered, "What have I done?"


	10. Chapter 9

A/N: So I now know why I hate spending time at my Aunt's house, and a three day weekend for my cousin's graduation party, especially when she just graduated Magna Cum Laude from Notra Dame, not so much fun. Every time I was around my Aunt she would compare me to my cousin, who is seven years older than me. Anyway, the next chapter should be up on Sunday, and I have to say there is a part in there that could not have happened without my little brother. Thank youShane!Right, so, enjoy, and review.

* * *

_The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. – Mahatma Gandhi_

_Life is short. Forgive quickly. Kiss slowly. – Robert Doisneau_

**Chapter Nine**

Lily woke early the next morning to find Emily staring out the window. "Hey."

Emily glanced over, "Hey."

Lily narrowed her eyes, "What's the matter?"

Emily shrugged her shoulders, "Nothing."

"Em, come on, I'm your best mate."

"Things have been too quiet lately; I'm worried about going home."

Lily bit her lip; she'd been thinking along those lines lately as well, "You know that Voldemort doesn't do a lot of real damage during the school year."

"I know, but this past year, it's almost as if he disappeared."

"That'd be nice." Lily murmured.

"Wouldn't it just." Emily replied. "But usually there's something. It's got me really worried that there's been nothing. It's like my mum says, 'You know there's trouble when you can't hear anything.'" Lily walked over to the window to stand next to Emily. "We're at the top of his list, you and I."

"I know."

"It's scary to go home." Emily said. "Lily, I don't want to die. I want to graduate, get a job, get married, have babies." Lily didn't answer, she didn't know how. They watched as the sun came up, "Do you ever wonder what your life would have been like if you'd said no to the letter, that you didn't want to come here to Hogwarts? What your life would have been like if you'd decided to stay a muggle."

Lily thought for a moment before answering, "Sometimes." She admitted. "But, we've always been witches, we just didn't know about it before."

"You know what I mean. Sometimes I wonder if I hadn't chosen to come here if I'd be safer."

Lily shrugged, "I've wondered about it myself; more so when Voldemort was first starting to get really powerful. But I really think that no matter what he'd have targeted us eventually. I mean we still would have been muggle borns, we just wouldn't know what was going on or how to do magic. At least now we know about him and how to defend ourselves."

"You're right; I know that you are, intellectually at least. But I can't help thinking that maybe, in this case, ignorance would have been better. I go home on holidays and lie to my parents, tell them that everything is wonderful because they wouldn't let me come back if they knew what was really going on. I wake up every morning wondering if I'll get through the day alive and I go to bed every night hoping that no one I know will be in the paper in the morning. It's not fair, we shouldn't have to do this, we're only seventeen years old. We should be looking forward to our futures, not wondering if we're going to have them."

"He'll be stopped eventually." Lily replied.

"But how many more people will have to die before that happens?"

Lily shook her head, "I don't know." She said sadly.

"What are you guys doing?" Dorcas called from the other side of the room.

"Just being dour." Emily replied. "I'm going to get in the shower."

"What was that all about?" Dorcas asked.

"She's worried about Voldemort." Lily replied.

"We all are."

"I know. But it's scary for us; you're not as much of a target as we are."

"Tell that to Alice or Peter or Remus." Dorcas said softly. "They're the ones who had their family's attacked last summer and Alice nearly died."

"I know; it's not something I'd forget." Lily shot back. "But it's different. It is." She added when Dorcas looked skeptical. "I know that everyone who hasn't joined Voldemort is a target, but at least you guys get to go home and talk about it with someone. Em and I, we go home and tell our parents how great everything is. We suck it up and don't talk to anyone about what's going on. And we wonder if we're doing the right thing by not telling them. There's no way that they can protect themselves even if they did know, but maybe they'd know enough to run if they knew. But you don't want them worried all of the time, to always be looking over their shoulders."

"Lily, the rest of us may be able to talk about what's going on, but we worry about our families as much as you and Em do. When Voldemort really wants to kill you there's no way to stop him, no matter how much magic you know. People don't survive Avada Kedavra."

"I know that, everyone knows that. But, if, god forbid, something happens to your family it wouldn't be your fault."

"Lily, it wouldn't be yours either." Dorcas responded.

"Okay, maybe not my fault, but I'd be responsible." Lily replied, "I would be Dorcas. My family wouldn't be involved in this if I wasn't a witch."

"You can't help being a witch. That's like saying it's your fault you have red hair and green eyes. It wasn't a choice you made."

"That's not the point; the point is if I wasn't a witch they wouldn't be a target. So if _he_ does something to them I'll be the one, not at fault maybe, but still responsible."

"Lily…"

"No, don't worry about it." Lily interrupted. "Listen, I think that I'm going to head to the Prefect's bathroom and take a bath."

Dorcas looked worried, but she said "Still not going to tell us what the password is?"

Lily smiled, thankful that Dorcas wasn't going to pursue it any further. "Nope." She grabbed her stuff and headed down the stairs.

"Hey, where are you off to this early?"

Lily glanced across the common room to see James staring at the fire, "To the Prefect's bathroom."

"Do you want some company?"

Lily raised an eyebrow, "I guess. Don't you ever sleep? You're always awake and already in the common room before I am."

"I'm used to getting up early. The guys usually sleep late, but normally I'm up fairly early."

"Huh."

"So what made you decide to head all the way over to the Prefect's bathroom?"

"Emily's in ours and I was getting into a pretty morbid conversation with Dorcas. I needed to get away, so this seemed like a good answer."

James lifted an eyebrow, "Running away from something? That's not usual for you."

"Not normally." Lily agreed, "But, I really didn't want to talk about it anymore and I couldn't think of any other way to get out of it."

"What were you talking about?" James asked as Lily said the password to the bathroom.

Lily shrugged, "Don't worry about it." She said as she stepped into the bathroom. James glanced at the statue of Boris the Bewildered next to the door as it closed in his face and knew exactly how Boris felt. Then he jumped a few moments later when the door opened again, "Coming?"

He grinned, "Just waiting for an invitation." Lily pulled him into the bathroom and kissed him deeply when the door closed.

James glanced at Lily out of the corner of his eye as they were walking down to breakfast, "What are you doing this summer?"

"I dunno. My sister's getting married, so there's the wedding." Lily replied.

"Your sister's getting married?"

"Yeah, to a horrid oaf of a man."

James smiled, "So, tell me what you really think of you future brother-in-law."

Lily grinned, "He's awful, he's just like her really, so I'm not surprised that they get on so well. I'm going to be in the wedding, which was a surprise when I read that, I have a feeling that mum had something to do with it."

"When is it?"

"The wedding?"

"Yeah."

"The middle of July. Why?" Lily replied.

"I just wanted to know if you wanted to spend some time at my house. We're not going to get to see each other otherwise; we live across the country from one another."

Lily smiled up at James as they walked into the Great Hall, "Yeah, I'd like that."

"Like what?" Alice asked.

"Nothing." Lily answered.

"Fine, that's okay, I didn't really want to know anyway." Alice said rolling her eyes. Then when Lily wasn't looking she threw some eggs at her.

"Hey! That's not nice." Lily said sticking out her tongue. "I'll get you back for that when you least expect it." Alice grinned back and stuck her tongue out at Lily.

"So, Lily, how was your bath?" Dorcas asked smiling evilly at her and James.

"Why? You want to join me next time?" Lily replied.

Gideon choked on his orange juice, "If she says yes can I come along?" Both Lily and Dorcas gave him dry looks, "I swear I'll stay out of they way, and I promise to just watch."

"Well, when you put it that way, sure." Lily replied.

"Really?" Gideon asked excitedly.

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Dorcas?"

Dorcas rolled her eyes, "What is it with guys getting off watching two girls together?"

"Nicely done. She's usually much harder to distract." James whispered to her.

Lily grinned at him, "I thought so."

They were almost finished with breakfast when the mail came, as they were all going home that day most of the owls were ones carrying the Daily Prophet. Lily had barely paid the owl when the screaming started.

Lily looked around and saw that people all over the Great Hall were tearing into the paper and growing pale. It didn't take Lily long to figure out why. "Bloody hell, Lily what does it say?" Marlie asked biting her lip in fear.

Lily glanced down at the paper where a black and white dark mark was glaring back at her. "'Massive Death Eater Attacks Across Country.'" She glanced at her friends before continuing, "'Last night death eaters simultaneously attacked all parts of Britain in the deadliest attacks to date.'" Marlie gasped and Lily skimmed down the article. "Oh, my god."

"What? What happened?" James asked.

"'Over five hundred muggles and nearly two hundred witches and wizards were killed in last night's attacks.'"

"What? How could that many people be dead?" Alice asked.

"God, what did they do?" Emily questioned.

"Does it say who?" Gideon asked nervously.

"Er, hold on." Lily said going through the paper quickly. "Yeah, it has, er, a couple of pages." She skimmed down the names then, when she was finished breathed a sigh of relief, "It's no one we know." She watched as the others all let out breaths. From the amount of crying students in the Great Hall she knew that not everyone was so lucky.

"How did they kill so many people? Does it say?" Dorcas asked. "Merlin, what happened?"

Lily skimmed the article, "They attacked crowded restaurants, shopping malls, sports arenas, anywhere with a crowd of people."

"What did they tell the muggles? They have to have realized that something is going on, bloody hell, nearly seven hundred people. How could they?" Emily asked starting to cry, "How could anybody?"

"They're saying it's some kind of freak hurricane." Lily murmured.

"And people believe that?" Dorcas asked.

"I guess, they don't have any other answers do they?" Lily replied.

"Why?" Alice asked quietly. Like many people in the Great Hall there were tears falling down her cheeks. "Why would anyone do something like this?"

"Because they could." James replied, his voice was rough, but his face was set. "They did it to show that they could. There isn't a logical answer for this; Voldemort wants us to be afraid. And what better way to do it than something like this; especially on the night before we leave Hogwarts."

"Ruddy bastards." Remus said hotly. "They're nothing but cowards. They attack people who can't defend themselves so that they can do more destruction."

Gideon opened his mouth to say something, but Dumbledore stood up. He was looking grave and more serious than anyone had ever seen him and the Great Hall quieted immediately. "Before anything, I would like to extend my condolences to all that have lost those close to them. I must implore you not to seek revenge for these losses. Take solace in your families and friends, those who love and care for you. It is after all love that will be the undoing of Voldemort," many people in the Great Hall shuttered at the name, "not hate. Be careful this summer holiday, follow the safety guidelines set out by the ministry. And most importantly, know that help will always be here for any who are in need."

* * *

"I don't think I've ever been less happy to be going home." Gideon said as the Hogwarts Express pulled to a stop.

"Bloody hell, look at all the ministry officials." Peter murmered.

Lily glanced out the window; there were men and women in purple robes lining the platform, no more than ten meters between them. "Whoa, I don't think I've ever seen that many ministry officials in one spot before."

"Well, considering what happened." Marlie muttered.

They were pulling their stuff off the train when Sirius walked up to them. Remus looked over, "Everyone, be careful. I'm going now." Then with a pop he was gone.

Sirius blinked when Remus disapperated, "I need to talk to the two of you." He said to James and Lily.

Everyone else looked to James and Lily, "Go ahead, we'll be fine. Stay safe everyone." Lily hugged them all before they either disapperated or found their parents on the platform.

"What do you want Sirius?" James asked.

"I want to apologize."

James blinked, "You what?"

Sirius huffed out a breath, "I was wrong and I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking that night and I messed up."

"Yeah, you did." James said. "But, I'm not the one that you should be apologizing to."

"There are a number of people that I have to apologize to, you're one of them. Lily, you're another." Sirius responded. "I know that Remus is the main person I need to apologize to, but I wanted to give him some more time." James didn't know how to respond, he couldn't remember the last time that Sirius had apologized to anyone. "So, I'm sorry for the way I've acted and for the things that I've said over the last couple of months."

James stared at Sirius, but Lily was the first to speak. "It's okay."

Sirius blinked, "Just like that?"

Lily shrugged, "You said you were sorry and you meant it, so it's okay, I forgive you."

"You're an amazing person." Sirius said in wonderment, "James, I don't know what you did to make her like you, but keep it up. Don't mess up, you're really very lucky." James blinked again, "So, what do you say, do you forgive me?"

James didn't say anything for a minute, "Yeah, I forgive you."

Sirius grinned, "Yeah?"

"Yeah." James replied, "So, do you want to come home with me? I know mum said that you got your own place, but you're still welcome at home." Lily smiled at them.

"Nah, I think it's time that I get my own place. My uncle left me some money, so I'll be okay."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah. I might stop by now and again, because, really, you're mum's cooking is the best. But I other than that I think I might enjoy being alone for a while."

"Hey, you kids, what are you doing?" One of the ministry officials asked.

The three of them looked at each other, "We're just talking."

"Well, hurry up, you all need to get to you're homes as soon as possible."

"Okay. He's right. Be careful you guys." Sirius said and then disapperated.

Lily glanced around the platform was nearly empty now, "Well, I guess I'll see you this summer. I'll owl you when I get home, so we can work out getting together."

"Alright. Goodbye Lily." James murmured.

Lily hugged him tightly, "Bye. Please be careful." She said pushed her trolley quickly through the barrier. She glanced around the nearly empty platform and quickly spotted her parents. "Mum, dad! It's good to see you."

Mr. and Mrs. Evans enveloped her into a hug, "It's good to have you home again sweetheart." Mr. Evans said grabbing her trolley. "Here let me push this for you."

"Thanks daddy."

"How was the rest of your school term?" Mrs. Evans asked.

"I did really well."

"That's good darling, we're very proud of you."

"Lily!"

Lily and her parents turned around to see James jogging through Kings Cross, "James?" Lily asked surprised, "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah." James panted. He grabbed her arm, pulled her towards him, and kissed her deeply.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Evans raised their eyebrows, "Mr. and Mrs. Evans, good to meet you. I'm James Potter, Lily's boyfriend." James said sticking out his hand.

Mr. Evans blinked, shook James' hand, and looked at Lily who was grinning goofily, "Lily's boyfriend?"

Lily glanced up at James and grinned again, "Yeah daddy, my boyfriend."

"How long have you two been dating then?" He asked.

"Since the beginning of April." James replied.

Mr. Evans opened his mouth again, but Mrs. Evans elbowed him in the ribs, "Michael," she hissed, "stop it. It's nice to have met you James."

"You too, Mrs. Evans. I've got to go, my parents are going to be wondering where I am. Bye Lily, Mr. Evans, Mrs. Evans."

"Bye James." Lily called grinning.

"How come you never said that you had a boyfriend Lily?" Mrs. Evans asked.

"I dunno." Lily replied.

"He seems like a nice boy."

"He is. He's wonderful; he's smart, funny, caring, brave, loyal…"

"We get it sweetheart." Mr. Evans interrupted. "He treats you well?"

"Yeah, dad he treats me very well."

"And he makes you happy?"

"Yes daddy." Lily answered climbing into the car.

"Okay then."

Lily rolled her eyes then met her mother's gaze in the mirror, they both smirked. "Have you mentioned him before Lily? His name sounds very familiar."

Lily thought about it for a minute, "I might have." She responded. "James used to act like an arrogant little," Lily caught herself before swearing in front of her parents, "er, berk. But he's changed a lot over the past year; he's grown up a lot."

"James Potter." Mrs. Evans said, "Of course, I remember where you've said the name now. You always used to complain about him, didn't you?"

Lily flushed slightly, "Yeah, but he's different now."

Her parents grinned at each other, "That's good darling." Her father said. "And your mother is right; he does seem like a nice boy."

Lily smiled, "Yeah." Then, inspired, she asked, "Do you think that he could come over this summer?" She saw the look her parents shot each other, "This way you guys could get to know him better. Five minutes at a train station isn't really a lot of time, and you could see how he is normally then."

"Well see, Lily." Her father responded. "Maybe after your sister's wedding."

Lily grinned and did a mental victory dance, "Okay. Where is Petunia anyway?"

"She's at the bridal shop now; she's having a fitting on her dress." Her mother said. "That's actually where we're headed now."

"What?" Lily asked surprised. "Mum, I just got off the train from school."

"We know sweetheart, but the shop is in London, so since we had to pick you up from Kings Cross anyway we figured it would make sense not to have to make two trips into London."

"Why do I have to be there?" Lily asked.

"Lily." Her mother said. "Be nice. Your sister's been trying to accept your magic; you know that it's hard for her. Besides, you are going to be in the wedding and you need to have your dress fitted as well."

_Accept magic my ass._ Lily thought. She huffed out a breath, "Alright I'll be nice, as long as she is."

"Lily." Mr. Evans said sharply.

"What?" Lily asked.

"Be nice, or James will absolutely not be spending any time at our house this summer." He said.

Lily rolled her eyes, "I bet the dress is pink." She muttered. Her parents looked at each other, "Oh, god. It is isn't it?"

"The dress is certainly something." Mrs. Evans said.

* * *

When Lily walked into the dress shop she decided that her mother was the queen of understatements. The dress was, as Lily had feared, a garish pink, the sleeves were off the shoulder and started with big poufs at the tops and went down to points at the wrists, and, worst of all in Lily's opinion, there was a large bow on the back, right where her butt would be.

"Come on dear; let's get you into a dress so that way we can make the necessary adjustments." The seamstress said. "Size six?"

Lily, who had yet to take her attention away from the dress, answered with an absent, "Yes."

"Good. Mary, come do the alterations for our young lady." The seamstress called.

A tall, brown haired girl about five or six years older than Lily appeared out from a row of dresses. She took one look at Lily, "The pink one?"

"Yes, dear, the pink one." The seamstress said. "My niece." She said to Mrs. Evans. "She likes to question everything."

The girl had Lily go into a changing room to try the dress on. Lily slipped into the dress and shook her head. _Wow, this looks terrible._ "Are you set?" The girl called.

"Yeah." Lily said and stepped out of the changing room.

"Ooh." The girl said. "I'm sorry."

Lily sighed, "Yeah, me too."

"The bride's your sister?" She asked.

"Yeah, Petunia's my sister."

"Why did she pick this dress?" The girl asked pinning the dress at the hem. "I mean especially with your hair."

"Because of my hair. My sister and I aren't on the best of terms." Lily sighed.

The girl looked slightly uncomfortable, "Oh."

"Lily, dear, let's see how it looks." Mrs. Evans called.

"Yes, Lily, let's see how the dress looks." She heard her sister call.

Lily shook her head and walked to the main part of the store. "Oh, Lily." Her mother said as Petunia's eyes lit with amusement.

"Why don't you turn around so that way we can see the back?" Petunia said fighting laughter.

"Sure, why not complete the humiliation." Lily muttered, but turned as requested.

"That dress looks, er, lovely on you dear." The seamstress said.

Lily turned so that she was facing the front of the store again. "Thanks." She muttered as the seamstress checked the way her niece had pinned the dress. Lily squinted towards the door as a large woman in tweed entered the store. "Petunia, has Vernon taken to wearing dresses lately?"

Mrs. and Mr. Evans both snorted, "Lily." Her mother admonished.

"No." Petunia spat. "Vernon has not taken to wearing dresses."

_It's only a matter of time then._ Lily thought, but thought better of saying it aloud. "Well, I suppose that must be Marge then."

Petunia's eyes bugged out, "But, she's supposed to be in Ireland."

"Petunia, good to see you." Marge said bumping her cheek against Petunia's. Lily and her father exchanged looks and Lily had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. "Vernon told me where to find you. There's good news, I'll be able to make it to the wedding after all."

Petunia went pale, but the seamstress seemed to handle it better, "Mary, help our new guest with a dress."

"What am I going to do?" Petunia whined. "Everything's been set up already. Now Vernon is going to have to add another groomsman to make things even and the seating at the reception is going to be messed up. Everything's ruined."

"Petunia, dear, don't worry, it's not that big of a deal. I'm sure we'll find a way to fix it." Mrs. Evans soothed.

"Mum, the wedding is in less than three weeks."

"So, we'll be quick about it."

Lily suddenly perked up when an idea hit her, "She can have my spot in the bridal party."

"What?" Mrs. Evans asked.

"Marge can have my spot, so that way Vernon doesn't have to add any groomsmen or whatever."

"Lily, darling, you don't have to do that, you're Petunia's sister, you should be in the wedding."

"Mum, Petunia and I've always been sisters, and we love each other, right Petunia." Petunia grimaced at her. "Well, Marge is going to be a new member of our family, and she deserves to be in the wedding as well. Besides, my dress is the only one that hasn't had any permanent changes made to it, so it's easy enough to switch me out of the bridal party." Lily said in a rush.

"That's very considerate and mature of you Lily." Mr. Evans said. "What do you say Petunia? Does that sound like a plan to you?"

Petunia looked from Lily to their father and back again. Lily grinned at her, she'd finally gotten back at her sister for the way she'd treated her over the Christmas Holiday. "I suppose so." Petunia sniffed.

"Well then. There that's settled." The seamstress said. "Why don't you go put your clothes back on dear?" She said to Lily. Then she turned to Mrs. Evans, "We have several dresses that would look lovely on her if you'd like to look at them and we can fit them when you're finished."

"Mum?" Lily said following her mother into the kitchen when they finally got home.

"Yes, dear?"

"Do you think that since I gave up my place in the bridal party and all, I could invite a friend to the wedding?" Lily asked.

"A friend?" Her mother asked.

"Yeah."

"And by friend, do you mean James?" Her mother asked.

Lily blushed, "I did, but if you're not okay with that I could ask one of my other friends."

"I don't know Lily."

"Please, mum."

"I'll see if I can talk your sister into it. It was a nice thing that you did, allowing Marge to take your place like that." Mrs. Evans said walking up to Petunia's room.

"That was very nicely done, if I do say so myself." Mr. Evans said when his wife had left the room.

"What was nicely done?" Lily asked feigning innocence.

"The way you got yourself out of having to wear that dress and getting your boyfriend invited to your sister's wedding. I'm impressed; I didn't know that you were so cunning." He said smiling.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Lily grinned evilly, "But did you see the way Marge looked in that monstrosity? Like a humungous cupcake iced by a blind monkey."

"Lily!" Mr. Evans said, though he wasn't quite quick enough to hide the amusement in his eyes.

"What? You know it's true." Lily replied.

He nodded his head in agreement, "You have a point, though if you tell anyone I'll deny it vehemently."

Lily grinned at her father, appreciating his humor. "I love you daddy." She said suddenly hugging her father.

"What's this?" He asked hugging her back.

"Nothing." Lily responded. "I just don't tell you and mum often enough, I suppose."

Mr. Evans chuckled slightly, "Well, I love you too, sweetheart."

That was how Mrs. Evans found them when she walked back into the kitchen. "Lily, Petunia doesn't mind if you have a friend over for the wedding."

Lily bounded to her mother, "Can I invite James?" She asked.

Mrs. and Mr. Evans looked at each other, "Yes, dear, I suppose that you can." Mrs. Evans replied.

Lily grinned broadly, "Thank you!" She kissed both of her parents on the cheek, "I'm going to go owl him now."

Mr. Evans watched his youngest daughter bound up the stairs to her bedroom, "She's been acting odd."

"Yes, she has." Mrs. Evans agreed.

Mr. Evans narrowed his eyes, "You don't think she's pregnant do you?"

Mrs. Evans let out a laugh, "No, I don't think she's pregnant. I think she's in love."


	11. Chapter 10

_Life's greatest happiness is to be convinced we are loved. - Victor Hugo_

_A child is a curly, dimpled lunatic. - __Ralph Waldo Emerson_

**Chapter Ten**

"Mum, dad, I'm going to James' house now." Lily called from the kitchen.

Mr. Evans walked into the room, "Sweetheart, I still don't understand why it is that you have to go there."

Lily blew out a breath, "I've told you daddy; James doesn't know what to wear to a muggle wedding, so I'm going to help him with it."

"I understand not knowing what to wear to a wedding, but I don't understand why you can't just tell him to get a suit and have his parents help him from there."

Lily smiled, kissed her father's cheek, "James' whole family is made up of wizards and witches, there hasn't been a muggle in his family for ages. They don't wear the same kinds of clothes that we do, and when they try it doesn't always come out right."

Mr. Evans looked at his daughter skeptically, "Don't you wear a normal school uniform when you go off to school."

Lily laughed slightly, "Yes, and I also wear wizarding robes over them, and a pointed black hat in class, and a cloak when it get cold. That's not something Petunia's going to want people to be wearing at her wedding."

"I suppose you're right." Mr. Evans said.

"Michael, stop badgering her." Mrs. Evans said walking in.

"I'm not badgering her Sarah, I'm questioning."

"Dear, from where I'm standing it sounds the same." Mrs. Evans replied. Then turning to Lily she said, "Have a good time Lily, we'll want you back by six."

"You want me back by dinner?" Lily asked.

"Yes, and I thought that you could bring James as well."

Both Lily and Mr. Evans gaped at her. Mrs. Evans laughed at the two of them, "I thought it would be nice to get to know him before your sister's wedding."

"Er, alright." Lily said. She heard the clock chiming ten o'clock and looked down at her watch. "I'd better be going, or I'm going to be late. Bye mum, bye daddy." She said kissing each of her parents in turn. Then with a pop she disapparated.

She appeared outside of James' house and quickly walked up the walkway to his door. "Lily! Hey!" James said opening the door as she got to it.

"Whoa, holy shit." Lily said jumping. "How did you know that I was here?"

"Oh, er, I heard you apparate." James said flushing slightly.

Lily narrowed her eyes, "You heard me?"

"Yeah."

"What, were you waiting by the door?" Lily joked. She glanced up at James, who had turned a darker shade of red, and laughed. "You were, weren't you?" She ruffled his hair, "That's sweet." Then she stood on her toes and kissed him lightly.

"That's me." James muttered and deepened the kiss.

"Jim, are you going to let the girl come up for air?" Mr. Potter called from the house. "You're mother and I would like to say hello to her as well."

James and Lily pulled apart, "Sorry dad, I just couldn't help myself." He said grinning.

Lily laughed, "Hello Mr. Potter, Mrs. Potter. It's good to see you again."

Mr. Potter hugged her, "Have any new muggle stories for me?"

"Grayson! Lily's just gotten here, she can tell you about muggles later." She turned to Lily, "Hello dear." She said kissing Lily's cheek. "It's good of you to come and take Jimmy shopping."

"Well, it is my sister's wedding that he's going to, so it's the least I can do." Lily replied.

"You've obviously never gone shopping for clothes with Jimmy before. The stories I could tell you from when he was young."

Lily looked interestedly from James to his mother, "Really?"

"Oh, yes, there was this one time, Jimmy was, what, five or six?" She said looking at her husband, who nodded at her. "Yes, well, Jimmy'd grown so much that he needed all new clothes for the summer, and we'd been out all day. In the last store we went into Jimmy decided he didn't want to try on anymore clothes and refused to come out of the dressing room." Lily laughed. "That's not the best part, I told him that he had to try the clothes on or he'd be walking around naked."

"Mum!" James cried. "Lily and I really need to be going." He said grabbing Lily's arm and pulling her towards the door.

"Don't be such a spoilsport James. I want to ear the rest of the story. What did he do Mrs. Potter?"

"Bless him, the dear said 'fine,' then came strolling out of the dressing room stark naked. I was so shocked that he got by me, and he ran around the store for fifteen, maybe twenty minutes before I could catch him and get him to put his clothes back on."

Lily burst out laughing, "I'll keep that in mind today."

"Come on, we've got to go, it's going to take a while to get down to the store." James muttered pulling out of the house.

"James, wait." Lily called. "My mum and dad wanted to know if it was okay for James to come to my house for dinner."

Mr. and Mrs. Potter looked at each other, "Sure, after the two of you are done shopping you can bring your things back here Jim and then I don't see why you can't go to Lily's." Mr. Potter said.

"Okay, cool, thanks dad." James said, though he did look a little nervous.

"You'd better be going kids." Mrs. Potter said.

"Bye Mrs. Potter, Mr. Potter." Lily called.

"You're parents want me to come for dinner?" James asked.

"Yeah, I was just about to head over here and my mum told me to ask you for dinner, said that she and dad should get to know you more before my sister's wedding." Lily answered.

"Oh," James said swallowing, "that's good."

"Come on James, it wont be bad, you've already met my mum and dad."

"Yeah, but it was only for five minutes, and a good chunk of that snogging you."

"Don't be nervous, they're not going to kill you." Lily replied.

James paled, "Don't joke about that Lily."

Lily smiled, "Even if daddy did go crazy and decide to do something, you could always use magic and be nice and safe."

"Yeah, yeah, you can laugh, but my parent's first impression of you wasn't of the two of us snogging."

Lily shrugged, "I guess. So, do you still run around starkers when you don't want to try on anymore clothes?"

James blushed, "Of course she told you that story."

Lily stopped walking and kissed James. "Is that a yes?"

James raised an eyebrow, "Why, you interested?"

Lily laughed, grabbed James' hand and started walking again, "I've already seen you naked."

"True enough, but that doesn't answer the question."

"No, I don't suppose it does. No, I don't want to see you running around the store stark naked."

"What about when we're finished?" James asked hopefully.

Lily laughed, "Is that all you think about?"

"What, sex?"

"Yes, sex."

"Only if it's with you darling." James replied.

Lily punched his arm lightly, "Come off it. So how much further do we have to go?"

"Not much." James replied. "This would be so much easier if we could ride brooms down."

"Or drive."

"You can drive?"

"Yeah, I just got my license."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I took the test for it right after we got back from school. I told mum and dad that I really didn't need to, with apparating and all, but they thought it would be a good idea, so I did."

"Huh, just another one of Lily Evan's amazing talents."

"Oh, yeah. You know me, full of hidden talents." Lily said rolling her eyes.

"I just bet you are." James replied, and had Lily raising an eyebrow. "Anyway, we're here, this is the store that mum said that we should go to."

They walked into the store and looked around, "I don't think this is the department that we want to be in." Lily said gesturing to the shoes and purses.

"No, I don't really think I want to use a purse."

"Can I help you?" A woman asked.

Lily and James turned around, surprised to see her, "Er, could you tell us where the men's section is?" Lily asked.

"Right this way? Is there something specific that you're interested in?" The woman questioned.

"We're going to a wedding and I need a suit to wear." James answered.

"A wedding? Aren't the two of you a little young to be getting married?"

Both Lily and James turned red, "No, er, my sister is getting married, not me." Lily replied.

"Of course. Here we are; why don't I help you pick some suits out?"

"No, that's alright, we'll manage on our own." James said.

The woman looked annoyed, so Lily added, "If we need any help we'll come and find you."

"Alright." The woman said suspiciously as she walked away.

"What's her problem?" James asked absentmindedly looking at the suits.

"She probably thinks we're going to steal something or, I dunno, trash the place, or something." Lily replied. "I don't think that we should get you a black suit."

"No, and why is that?"

"It's a bit much. Here, try these ones." Lily said handing James three suits. "We can get the shirt and tie after we find a suit."

He looked at the suits "Isn't this one black?" He asked.

Lily looked over, "No, it's navy blue."

James looked at the suits again, "If you say so. I think I like these ones better." He said gesturing to the brown and gray suits.

"Why?"

"Because I can tell what color they are."

Lily laughed, "Just go try them on."

"I've a feeling this is going to take a lot longer than I thought it would."

"Just as long as you don't come out of that dressing room naked we can probably make it fast. Then we can spend a couple of hours just hanging out."

"I thought we were going to your house for dinner." James said coming out from the dressing room wearing the navy blue suit.

"Mum said to be back at six, it's only" She looked down at her watch, "twelve now. It'll take us an hour or so to get back, so we've got five hours to find you a suit and then do whatever we want. That one doesn't fit right, it's a little too big in the shoulders, and tight in the arms. That's weird."

James shrugged, "I'll go try another one on."

"Okay."

James came back a few minutes later in the brown suit, "I look like a piece of shit."

Lily giggled, "No you don't. That one doesn't fit badly; you're just going to have the pants hemmed." She titled her head, considered, "Go try on the last one."

"Alright."

"Wait, I found a shirt that'll match the gray suit, go try it on with the suit so we can see how it goes."

James took the shirt and walked back into the dressing room.

"James?" Lily called after a few minutes. "James? Are you alright? You've been in here there a while." She walked into the dressing room area.

"Miss, I'm sorry you can't come back here." A young man said.

"I'm just looking for my boyfriend; he came in here a while ago and hasn't come out."

"I'm not really supposed to let you back here."

"I won't be long, I promise."

He looked at her for a minute, "Okay, but make it fast."

"Thanks. James, are you still in here?" Lily called.

James poked his head out of one of the stalls, "Lily? How'd you get in here?"

"The guy at the front let me in, are you going to let me see that last suit or are you going to come running out of there naked?"

"Cute." James said. "Just wait until I see your parents later. We'll see why kind of stories your mum tells about you."

Lily rolled her eyes, "I was a perfect child, I did nothing wrong."

"Yeah? And I'm Dumbledore."

Lily shrugged, "Now come on, let me see how you look in this suit."

James stepped out of the dressing room, "What do you think?"

Lily felt her jaw drop, "Wow."

James grinned, "Yeah, I thought you'd like this one."

"You're going to have to get the sleeves shortened, but otherwise."

"So, what, do we just need to get the tie?"

"Yeah, you can get away with wearing your shoes from school."

"Good, you don't want to know what happens when I have to go shoe shopping."

Lily grinned, "I can only imagine." She stood on her toes and kissed James lightly. "Hurry up, and change so that we can hang out for a while."

"Will do."

* * *

"So, do you want to go back to my house for a while? Or do you want to stay in town and walk around?"

"Let's go back to your house." Lily replied.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, one town's the same as the next really, and we can do magic at your house." Lily answered. "Plus, we can have lunch at your house, and your mum's cooking is amazing." Lily stopped for a second, "You cook with your mum."

James looked over, "Yeah, so?"

"So, does your food taste as good as your mum's does?"

"I'll cook for you sometime and you can see for yourself."

"Really?"

"Yeah, sure, I like it. Just don't tell anyone."

Lily grinned, "Secret's safe with me. Are you really going to cook for me?"

"Yeah."

Lily stopped and kissed James deeply. "I can't wait."

James grinned, "If I knew that you'd like me to cook for you I'd have offered years ago."

Lily smiled, "I'm going to have to tell my friends that you cooked for me."

"Lily, you said you wouldn't tell."

Lily sighed, "I know, but none of them've ever had their boyfriends cook for them."

"So you want to outdo them?" James asked amused.

"Not outdo, exactly, I just want to let them know that the guy that I'm in love with can cook and cooks for me."

James grinned, "Alright, but say it again."

"Say what?" Lily asked feigning ignorance.

"You know what." James replied.

Lily sighed loudly, "Oh, alright, I love you."

"I love you too." James replied kissing the top of her head. "You know I don't think that I'm going to get over being able to tell you that."

"I hope that you don't, because I like hearing it."

"I love you." Lily grinned at him. "Mum, dad, we're back." James called walking in the door. When they got no answer Lily and James looked at each other. "Mum, dad, are you here?"

"Oy, James, your parents left you a note." Lily called from the kitchen. "Here." She said handing it to James who draped his garment bag over a chair.

"'Dear Jimmy, blah, blah, blah, we had an Order meeting, we'll be back later. Have fun at Lily's. Love, mum and dad.'" James read.

"You're parents are in the Order?" Lily asked surprised.

"Yeah, my parents are really outspoken against Voldemort. Plus they both have high connections in the ministry so they can really help out; even if they're not doing, you know, physical things for the most part."

"Every little bit helps." Lily murmured. "Like what we do at school."

"Yeah, exactly." James replied. "Since mum and dad aren't here, do you want me to make you something for lunch?"

Lily glanced down at her watch, "Something light, it's one thirty, so I don't want anything too heavy. Does this count as you cooking for me?"

James glanced over his shoulder, "No, I'll still make you dinner sometime."

Lily hugged him, "Brilliant. I really can't wait."

James grinned and kissed Lily. He kissed his way from her lips to her neck, concentrating on the sensitive spot under her jaw. Lily gasped and tangled her fingers in his hair. James ran his hands across her belly, "James." James kissed his way back up to her lips, traced them with his tongue before slipping it between her lips.

Lily moaned into James' mouth as he lifted her up and sat her down on the counter. "James." She said turning her head.

James nibbled on her ear, "Yeah?"

"James, you have to, oh god." She moaned when he nipped at her jaw.

"I have to what?"

"What?" Lily asked.

James grinned, "I have to what."

"Stop, you have to stop. James, we're in your parent's house."

"They're not home."

"We're in the kitchen. What if they come home?"

"Okay," James said breathing heavily, "you're right." He lifted her off the counter, set her on her feet, "Come with me."

"Where are we going?"

"The pool."

"You've got a pool?" Lily asked. "How did I not know that? I spent a week here over Christmas."

James shrugged, "I guess it didn't come up. Come on."

"I don't have a bathing suit."

James grinned. "You're not going to need one."

Lily raised her eyebrow, "And what if you're parents come home?"

"We'll be able to hear them when they come back."

"How?"

"Some kind of charm that my mum did ages ago. When people apparate into or near the house there's a bell that goes off. And we'll be far enough away from the front of the house that we'll have enough time to get dressed and everything."

Lily raised an eyebrow again, "Are we going to be naked."

"Damn right we are." He said kissing her again. He lifted her shirt over her head and let it drop to the floor. Once they were fully undressed James picked Lily up and put her over his shoulder.

"James!" Lily squealed. "James, put me down."

"Nope." James replied. "But I'd hold my breath if I were you."

Lily's eyes went wide, but as she knew from previous experience James wasn't kidding, she held her breath. She squirmed away from him when they were under the water, "You've really got to stop doing that." She said treading water.

"But it's fun." James replied. "Come here."

"No, I don't think I will." James' mouth dropped open and had Lily laughing, "That's what you get for tossing me in a pool, again. Now, all you have to do is catch me."

James watched as Lily ducked under the water and swam in the opposite direction. After ten minutes and a lot of splashing later Lily let James catch her. "Caught you." James said kissing her nose.

"So you did." Lily replied. Her eyes blurred and she wrapped her legs around his waist when he slipped inside her. "So you did."

* * *

"Do I look alright?" James asked.

"Bloody hell James, for the last time, you look fine." Lily said exasperated. "Come on let's go in."

James wiped his hands on his pants, "Okay, let's go."

Lily laughed and opened the door, "Mum, daddy, we're here."

"Lily? Good." Mrs. Evans called, "We're in the dining room dear, come in, dinner's almost ready."

Lily pulled James to the dining room, "Daddy, you remember James."

Mr. Evans stood up, stuck out his hand, "Yes, of course." James shook the offered hand, "Though it's a little hard to recognize you when you're not attached to my daughter's lips."

James visibly paled and Lily's mouth dropped open, "Daddy!"

Mr. Evans laughed, "Michael," Mrs. Evans said as she walked into the room, "Michael, are you teasing him?"

"No, Mrs. Evans, it's fine, really." James said. "It's nice to see you again."

"Good man." Mr. Evans murmured and had James grinning.

"You too, dear. Lily, help me bring the food out."

"Er, yeah, sure." Lily looked at her father. "Be good."

Mr. Evans shook his head, "My girls, they don't like when I tease their friends. They should be used to it by now. Don't think I mean what I say, Lily's told her mother and I about you, and you make her happy, so I'm okay with you, for now. If you hurt her however…" Mr. Evans trailed off.

"I'll do my best not to hurt her, sir. Though I can't promise that I won't do something to upset her, I probably will. But I'll do my best by her, that I can promise."

Mr. Evans eyed him, "I appreciate honesty."

Lily and Mrs. Evans came out from the kitchen, "What are you talking about daddy?"

"Nothing." Mr. Evans replied quickly.

Lily narrowed her eyes, "Daddy."

"I was just telling your dad about Quidditch." James said.

"You were?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, yeah he was." Mr. Evans said.

Lily eyed them narrowly, "What's Quidditch?" Mrs. Evans asked.

James' mouth dropped open, "You've never told your mum about Quidditch?"

Lily shrugged, "I guess it never came up. We never really talked about sports."

"Weird." James said. "Quidditch is _the_ wizarding sport. It's played on broomsticks."

"Broomsticks?" Mrs. Evans asked.

James smiled, "Broomsticks. Then there are seven players on a team and there are three hoops on either end of the pitch."

Mrs. Evans nodded, "Alright, I follow that."

"Three players on each team are called chasers, they take a ball called a quaffle and try to get it through one of the hoops, every time they do, they get ten points for their team." Mrs. Evans nodded again. "There's one keeper on each team who tries to keep the chasers from scoring."

"Sort of like football then." Mrs. Evans said nodding.

"Football?" James asked. "Oh, right. We studied that in muggle stories, yeah, kind of like that. Then there are two players who each get bats and try to hit two other balls, called bludgers, at the other players to keep them from scoring or whatever for their team. Then the last player on each team is called a seeker. The seekers only have one responsibility, to catch a small ball called the Golden Snitch. It's really small and really hard to see and near impossible to catch. So the seeker who catches it for their team gets one hundred and fifty points from their team, and they end the game. Since the games ends when the snitch is caught the team whose seeker catches the snitch usually wins."

"Interesting." Mrs. Evans said. "What position do you play?"

"I'm a chaser." James replied.

"He's also the captain of the Gryffindor team, mum." Lily said.

"Really? You must be good then."

James shrugged, "I guess so."

"James is one of the best players in the school." Lily said. "He could play professionally if he wanted to."

Mr. Evans looked at him, "Is that so?"

James shrugged, "It doesn't matter really, because I'm going to be an auror."

"An auror, that's what you want to be, isn't it Lily?" Mrs. Evans asked.

Lily nodded her head, "Yeah."

"That's like an elite police force, yes?" Mr. Evans asked.

James looked over at Lily, "It was the best way I could think of to describe aurors."

James thought about it for a moment, "I guess your right."

"Good for you." Mrs. Evans said. "It's good that you put doing what's right over sports."

"We've always told Lily to stand up for what was right and for what she believed in. So far she's done us proud." Mr. Evans said.

Lily blushed, "She usually does speak her mind." James said.

Mrs. Evans smiled, "She always has. There was this one time when she was eight or nine, she came home from the playground very smug and self satisfied. She wouldn't tell us why, but we found out later when we got a call from the mother of a boy down the street."

"Oh, mum, do you have to?" Lily moaned.

"It's only fair, Lil, my mum told you stories about me, so now I get to hear some stories about you.

Lily huffed as Mrs. Evans smiled, "As I was saying, Mrs. Reed was furious; apparently Lily had kicked Tommy in the shin and sent him home in tears."

"I was eight and Tommy was twelve and he called me a freak because," Lily paused, "I don't even remember now, actually. Anyway, so I kicked him in the shin and told him that he shouldn't call anyone a freak." Lily explained.

"Yes, and Tommy had conveniently left the teasing out of his story, and Mrs. Reed had a talk with him. But the boy did wind up with a bruise the size of Ireland."

James grinned, "Yes, I see how you were a perfect child there, Lily."

Mr. Evans laughed, "Perfect? I used to get more gray hair from the antics this one put me through in a week than Petunia would give me in a year." James grinned again.

"Come on dad, I wasn't that bad." Lily muttered. "Mum, since we're done would you mind if we went for a walk."

Mrs. smiled at her daughter, "That would be fine dear. Go have fun."

"Sorry about my dad." Lily said when they were outside.

"Don't worry about it; my parents are the same way. You've met them, so you know."

Lily shrugged, "I know, but still."

James draped his arm over her shoulder, "I hope I'm like them when my kids are old enough to date."

Lily smiled, "I can see you being like that."

"Yeah?" James grinned.

"Absolutely. Not just with the girls either, I can see you being like that with all your kids."

James laughed, "How many kids do you think I'm going to have?"

"How many kids do you want?" Lily asked.

"I never really thought about it. At least one of each I guess. How many kids do _you_ want?"

Lily laughed, "I dunno, a few I guess." Then she continued absently, "Emily is convinced we're going to have twelve kids, since we're going to be shagging all the time."

James coughed, "What!"

Lily tuned bright red, "Oh, er. I, er, I didn't… I'm sorry."

James laughed, "No, it's okay. Do you think about us having kids a lot?"

Lily's blush darkened, "It was right after we got back from Christmas holiday, I told Emily how much I fancied you, and I asked her what I should do about it. She told me not to worry, that pretty soon you and I would be married with twelve kids." She mumbled.

James smiled, "Maybe we should think about it."

"What? Having twelve kids?" Lily asked.

"No, getting married."

It was Lily's turn to choke, "Are you serious? James, we're only seventeen years old."

"Not this minute; after we graduate."

"James, I don't know what to think. I mean bloody hell James, we'll only be eighteen. Most people who get married that young aren't happy; they wish they would have waited until they were older."

"I know, but not everyone who gets married young is miserable with it."

"Name one couple that you know that got married at eighteen and don't regret it."

"Easy, my parents got married when they were eighteen. And they're two of the happiest people I know."

"But they're not the rule James, they're the exception."

"I know that. But, Lily, if you love each other and you know that it's not easy, that marriage is hard work, and that you have to compromise, then it works."

Lily was at a loss for words, "I…"

"Take a deep breath, Lil. We're not getting married tomorrow, or even next week. I love you, and when I think about tomorrow, or next week, or next year, bloody hell, even ten years from now you're there, with me. And that's all you really need to know right now."

Lily sighed, "I love you too. It's just such a big step. And we're so young."

James kissed her temple, "What do you see when you think about the future?"

Lily closed her eyes, thought for a moment, "You're there, too."

"So, it's not such a big step after all then."

"No, I guess not." Lily replied, "Well, we're back to my house."

"So, we are." James replied, looking down at his watch, "I've got to be going soon, my parents don't want me out too late. They worry with everything going on."

"Okay, say hi to them for me." Lily said. James' hand wrapped around the nape of her neck as he bent down to kiss her, and Lily's fingers tangled in his hair as the kiss deepened. "I'll see you next week."

"Saturday at noon, right." James confirmed.

"You should probably be here a little bit earlier. So that way there's some extra time, you know, just in case."

"Okay, so, about eleven then?"

"Yeah, that'd be good."

"Alright, I'll see you then." James said kissing her forehead, "I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

"Petunia, you've been in the bathroom for two hours, I have to get ready too, you know." Lily yelled pounding on the door.

"Lily, stop banging on that door." Mr. Evans said.

"Daddy, I need to shower and get ready. Petunia's been in the bathroom forever."

"Sweetheart, it's her wedding day, give it a rest."

"It's ten thirty daddy. James will be here in half an hour and we have to leave in an hour and a half." Lily explained.

"How about this, sweetheart, if your sister isn't out of the bathroom by the time your mother is out of the bathroom then you can use ours."

"Okay. You look very nice daddy." Lily said straightening his tie.

"Thanks."

"That blue makes your eyes stand out and it make you look very handsome."

"That's what your mother said. I still don't understand why I needed to get a whole new suit, my old ones fit just fine." Mr. Evans mumbled.

"You can't wear old clothes to your daughter's wedding." Lily replied.

Mr. Evans smiled, "You sound more like your mother all the time." He draped an arm over her shoulder, "Come on, kiddo, let's go eat something."

"Careful, you don't want to get anything on your clothes, mum will kill you." Lily said taking several things out of the refrigerator.

"What is that?" He asked pointing to a lumpy ball of aluminum foil.

Lily shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine."

"Well, I'll be adventurous. It's last night's meatloaf. Sweetheart, get me a couple of slices of bread." Lily handed him two slices of bread, "Besides, if something does happen, I can just have my little witch fix it for me. Mum need never know."

"Mum need never know what?" Mrs. Evans asked

Mr. Evans glanced over his shoulder, "If I spilled something on me, Lily could just fix it, and there is no need to worry."

"That's true, I keep forgetting that you're allowed to do magic now." Mrs. Evans said. "I would have loved to be able to do the kind of things that you do."

Lily grinned, "It is pretty cool." She agreed. "It's nice to be able to do magic outside of school."

"I'm sure it…" Mrs. Evans started, but she was interrupted by a loud bang. "What was that? Did a car backfire?"

Lily squealed, "James is here. Oh god, I'm not dressed or even showered yet."

"How do you know that was James?" Mr. Evans asked.

"That's the sound of someone apparating." Lily explained jogging to the door. She opened it and blinked, "Mr. Potter?"

"Hello, Lily, good to see you."

"Mr. Potter, what are you doing here?"

"Dad wanted to come and see your house." James said stepping out from behind his father. "Though he keeps saying that he just wants to say congratulations to your sister in person."

"Your mother and I agreed that it was the polite thing to do, Jim. Besides, I wanted to meet your parents." He said to Lily.

"They're right in the kitchen, follow me." Lily replied gesturing towards the kitchen.

"So, what, were you waiting by the door?" James asked cheekily, "We didn't even get the chance to knock."

Lily rolled her eyes, "Sorry darling, I'm not you." James raised his eyebrow, "My parents and I were sitting in the kitchen and the windows are open so we heard you and your dad apparate."

James pressed his lips together and shook his head, "Why couldn't I have come up with something like that."

Lily walked into the kitchen laughing, "Mum, dad, you remember James." Both her parents nodded at James, "And this is James' father, Grayson Potter."

"Good to meet you, I'm Michael. This is my wife Sarah." Mr. Evans said gesturing to his wife.

"Nice to meet you both. I'm sorry that my wife couldn't be here, she had an appointment."

"No, we should get together when you and your wife are free, since our kids are dating." Mrs. Evans said.

"That would be lovely, I'm sure that Isadora would like that. I know that she would love to meet you, she's very fond of Lily."

Mrs. Evans smiled, "We're fond of James as well, he's a very nice young man." She glanced over at Lily, whose eyes were wide, "Lily, how come you haven't gotten ready yet?"

"Petunia's been in the bathroom for the last two and a half hours and I couldn't get in there."

"I told Lily that she could use our bathroom." Mr. Evans said.

"Alright, dear, you better get going you don't want to be late."

"Er, alright." Lily said looking around; her eyes locked on James' who looked slightly uncomfortable, "I'll be quick."

Lily dashed up the stairs to her room, grabbed her wand, and conjured her stuff from the bathroom. She grabbed her stuff, ran past the bathroom door and stopped when it opened slightly. "I told you not to do your freakish thing around me." Petunia said sticking her head out of the room.

"I wouldn't have to if you wouldn't have taken two and a half hours in the bathroom." Lily replied.

"It's my wedding day."

"Well let me fall to my knees and praise you then, your highness."

"You're so annoying; I can't believe that we're related." Petunia said.

"Tell me about it. I've always thought you were switched at birth, but mum and dad are convinced that they got the right baby. They said that that the woman in the bed next to mum was certifiably insane, but I think that just proves my theory."

"God, I can't stand you."

"It's a good thing that you're going getting out of the house then isn't it, you're not going to have to see me anymore."

"I've been counting the days until the wedding because I won't have to see you anymore."

"If that's what you've been looking forward to on your wedding day, it really doesn't say much for Vernon, does it?" Lily said, and then dashed into her parent's room and into their bathroom.

Lily jumped in the shower and took one of the quickest showers she'd ever taken in her life. She was ready in forty minutes; she threw her stuff into her bedroom on her way down the stairs. "I'm ready." She said walking into the kitchen.

"Oh, Lily, good, we were just going to get you." Mrs. Evans said. "Is your sister still upstairs?" Lily nodded, "Okay, I'm going to go get your sister, we have to leave soon, so we can go take pictures at the church."

James turned as Mrs. Evans walked past him, "Wow, Lily, you look amazing." Lily was wearing a strapless, lilac colored, silk dress which fell just below her knees; her hair fell in soft waves to the middle of her back.

She blushed, "Thanks."

"Darling, you look lovely." Mr. Evans said.

"Yes, Lily, you do look very nice." Mr. Potter agreed.

"Thank you." Lily smiled at him. Mr. Potter smiled back, then started coughing.

James' eyes went wide and he stared worriedly at his father. "Mr. Potter, are you alright?" Lily asked, a sudden picture of James and Sirius talking about Mr. Potter being very sick the year before popping into her head.

"Don't worry; just a little summer cold." Mr. Potter replied.

"Dad, are you sure that you're alright?" James asked.

"I'll be fine Jim. Nothing to worry about." Mr. Potter answered, coughing again. "Just a little tickle in my throat."

"Would you like a glass of water, Grayson?" Mr. Evans asked.

"That would be lovely, thank you Michael." Mr. Evans handed Mr. Potter a glass filled with water, who took several slow sips. "There that's much better. Don't look so worried there Jim, your father's as healthy as a horse."

"Okay, dad."

"I'm going to be going; I told your mother that I wouldn't stay for too long." Mr. Potter said. "Jim, I'll see you when you get home later, Michael, we'll figure out when we can get together with our wives, and Lily, I hope to see you soon as well."

"Bye, dad."

"Bye, Mr. Potter."

"Goodbye, Grayson." And with a pop he was gone.

"Alright, everyone, we're ready to go." Mrs. Evans said.

Lily glanced over her shoulder and her jaw dropped. Petunia looked lovely. _Whatever it was she did in the bathroom for three hours certainly worked_. Lily thought.

* * *

Lily was sitting in the first pew, between her mother and James. She heard James snicker when the first of Petunia's bridesmaids walked down the isle. "How did you get out of wearing that hideousness of a dress?" James whispered to her.

"Vernon's sister, that one," She said nodding her head at Marge, "was supposed to be in Ireland for the wedding, but she had a change of plans. She tracked us down at he dress shop when I was getting mine fitted. So, I insisted that she take my place in the bridal party."

"That's pretty good. I'm impressed."

"I know. I wasn't sure it was going to work, but not only did I not have to wear that thing, I got to invite you, since I proved I was so mature by giving up my place."

James snickered again, "So, really, for you it was just a win-win situation, huh?"

Lily grinned at him, "Damn right it was."

The wedding march started and everyone stood up, "Why do we have to stand when they start that song?"

Lily shrugged, "I dunno; it's tradition. Besides it let's you see the bride as she's coming down the isle."

People gasped and started murmuring, "Your sister looks really nice." James whispered, "Emily and Alice told me that your sister looks a bit like a horse."

Lily bit her lip to keep laughing, "She spent three hours in the bathroom in the morning; whatever she did in there worked incredibly well." She smiled as her father kissed Petunia's cheek. "I'm happy for her. I hope that she's happy."

"Lily." Her mother hissed, "Stop talking."

"Sorry mum." She looked at James and shrugged.

The minister stepped up, "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here in the sight of God, and in the presence of this company, to unite Vernon and Petunia in holy matrimony. Marriage was ordained by God in Eden and confirmed in Cana of Galilee by the presence of the Lord, and is declared by the Apostle Paul to be honorable among all men. On this occasion we begin by asking God's blessing on this marriage service. Let us pray."

Lily zoned out slightly during the wedding mass, jolting slightly when James grabbed her hand. She grinned over at him.

"Vernon, do you take Petunia to be your wife, and do you commit yourself to her in the holy bonds of matrimony, to give yourself to her in love and work, to invite her into your being so that she may fully know you, to forsake all others and remain faithful to her, to cherish her above all others and respect her individuality, to encourage her to be herself and grow in all that God intends?" The Minister said.

Vernon smiled, "I do."

"Repeat after me, I, Vernon, take you, Petunia, to be my wedded wife,"

"I, Vernon, take you, Petunia, to be my wedded wife,"

"to have and to hold,"

"to have and to hold,"

"to love and to cherish,"

"to love and to cherish,"

"to give and to receive,"

"to give and to receive,"

"to speak and to listen,"

"to speak and to listen,"

"to repent and to forgive,"

"to repent and to forgive,"

"to respect and to honor,"

"to respect and to honor,"

"and together to go forth along the path which God has provided for us."

"and together to go forth along the path which God has provided for us." Vernon slipped the ring on Petunia's finger, and Lily heard her mother sob.

The minister turned to Petunia, "Petunia, do you take Vernon to be your husband, and do you commit yourself to him in the holy bonds of matrimony, to give yourself to him in love and work, to invite him into your being so that he may fully know you, to forsake all others and remain faithful to him, to cherish him above all others and respect him individuality, to encourage him to be himself and grow in all that God intends?" The Minister said.

Petunia smiled tearily, "I do." And Lily's mother sobbed again.

"Repeat after me, I, Petunia, take you, Vernon, to be my wedded husband,"

"I, Petunia, take you, Vernon, to be my wedded husband,"

"to have and to hold,"

"to have and to hold,"

"to love and to cherish,"

"to love and to cherish,"

"to give and to receive,"

"to give and to receive,"

"to speak and to listen,"

"to speak and to listen,"

"to repent and to forgive,"

"to repent and to forgive,"

"to respect and to honor,"

"to respect and to honor,"

"and together to go forth along the path which God has provided for us."

"and together to go forth along the path which God has provided for us."

The minister smiled, "I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride." Everyone in the church clapped.

"Come on." Lily said pulling James to the steps outside of the church.

"Where are we going?"

"Right here." She said stopping on the steps and grabbing two small pouches. "Here, this one is for you."

"What is it." James asked.

"Rice."

"Rice? We get a snack?"

"What? No, I thought you took muggle studies."

"We didn't cover weddings that's covered in NEWT level muggle studies. So what's with the rice?"

"You take it and throw handfulls at the bride and groom as they come out of the church."

"Why?"

Lily stared at him, "Honestly, I have no idea. It's good luck I guess."

"How is throwing rice at someone good luck?"

"Er, it shows that you're going to be able to afford food?" Lily replied.

"You just made that up, didn't you?"

"Yes, yes I did."

James laughed and kissed Lily lightly, "Okay then, let's throw some rice at your sister and her husband."

* * *

A/N: Review, let me know what you think... :o) 


	12. Chapter 11

A/N: Sorry for the really long wait, I had finals so I couldn't write a lot, and then for the last week or so wouldn't let me update. It was pretty much the most annoying thing ever, it kept comming up with an error message every single time I tried. Anyway, now that all of that is over I should be back to my once a week updating... Enjoy :)

* * *

_The shifts of fortune test the reliability of friends. – Cicero_

_In the darkest hour the soul is replenished and given strength to continue and endure. – Unknown. _

**Chapter Eleven**

Lily was lying face up on the grass in her backyard, staring up at the clouds. "Lily, what are you doing?" Mrs. Evans asked.

"Finding shapes in the clouds." Lily answered absently.

Mrs. Evans laughed and sat next to her daughter. "You used to do this all the time when you were a little girl."

Lily propped herself up on her elbows, "Yeah."

"Is there anything wrong?"

Lily thought of the paper she had seen that morning; there had been another attack, twelve people had been killed, four of them children. "No." She lied.

"Lily, I'm your mother, I can tell that something's bothering you. Did you have a fight with James?"

"No, I just sent a letter to James, we're good. I'm just bored I guess. I'm done with all my homework for the summer and now I don't have anything to do."

Mrs. Evans looked at her daughter skeptically, "You've always needed to be on the go, you were never satisfied just sitting around." She said, "Why don't you invite a couple of your friends over for a week."

Lily looked at her mother, "Really?"

Mrs. Evans smiled, "Yes, let me talk to your father about it, and we'll figure out what the best week to have them over will be."

Lily smiled and hugged her mother, "Thanks mum. It's been ages since I've had them here."

"Yes, I remember. I'm not entirely sure that your father has gotten over it yet. Five twelve and thirteen year old girls was a little much for him, he's not used to being around so many teenaged girls."

Lily laughed, "Yeah, I remember that, poor daddy. He should have known better than to take us all to see The Exorcist. I don't think any of us slept for months after that."

Mrs. Evans shook her head, "I told him not to take you girls to see that; especially not after I saw the news reports of people passing out and throwing up in the theaters."

"That still remains the scariest movie I've ever seen in my life." Lily said. "I think I had nightmares about it for six months after I saw it."

Mrs. Evans sighed, "I told him not to take you all to see that movie, that it was too scary for you all, but he insisted that you'd all be okay. Daddy still wasn't used to teenaged girls yet, even though Petunia was sixteen. She never really liked to spend time with him, especially not going out to movies."

"Her loss." Lily murmured.

Mrs. Evans leaned over to kiss Lily's temple, "You're a good girl, Lily." Then she too leaned back on her elbows. "That one there looks like an elephant." She said pointing.

Lily looked, considered, "I think it looks like a horse."

Mrs. Evans squinted, "I suppose." She agreed, "What's that dark spot?"

"What dark spot?" Lily asked.

"That one there, it's right where the eye would be." Mrs. Evans replied pointing.

"I don't know, but it's moving." Lily said slowly.

"Is that Hamlet?"

Lily squinted, "It can't be, I just sent him off to James this morning, there's no way that he could have gotten to Newcastle and back already."

Mrs. Evans shielded her eyes from the sun and squinted her eyes again, "It's definitely an owl. Could it be from one of your other friends?"

"Emily would have called, but it could be from one of my other friends." Lily answered.

Both Lily and her mother stood up and waited for the owl to come to them. "It's from school." Lily said looking at the seal on the letter.

"School? What does it say?"

Lily opened the letter, "Oh, my god!" She squealed.

"What is it?"

"I'm Head Girl, mum!" Lily said showing her mother the gold and scarlet badge that had come with the letter.

"Oh, darling, congratulations." Mrs. Evans said hugging Lily, "I'm so proud of you. This calls for a celebration, we're going to go out for dinner tonight."

"Okay, I can't believe it, this is amazing!" Lily grinned, "I'm gonna go call Emily." Lily hugged her mother again and dashed towards the house.

Lily ran into the kitchen and picked up the phone, "Come on, come on." She muttered as the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Mrs. St. James, this is Lily Evans, a friend of Emily's from school."

"Oh, yes, Lily, hold on a moment, I'll get Emily."

"Thank you."

"Lily?"

"EM, I'M HEAD GIRL!" Lily squealed into the phone.

"Congratulations, I knew you'd make it'd be you." Emily replied. "When did you find out?"

"I just got the letter now. I was really disappointed when we got our letters last week, so I wasn't expecting it. Then mum and I were hanging out in the backyard and there it was."

"I'm so glad it's you, Lily, I would have protested if it turned out to be Ella Fairchild or Morgana Gamp."

Lily laughed and leaned against the wall, "I get why you didn't want Morgana Gamp, 'cause, hey, Slytherin. But what do you have against Ella Fairchild?"

"Ella Fairchild is a dirty whore… Sorry mum." Emily said as Lily laughed. "You know it's true, Lily." She mumbled into the phone.

Lily smiled, "Yeah." Both girls giggled.

"Do you know who the Head Boy is?"

Lily glanced at the letter she was still holding, "No, it doesn't say."

"Let's see, who were the prefects; Remus, Snape, Michael Richardson for Ravenclaw, and Jacob Stevens for Hufflepuff."

"The Head Students don't have to have been prefects." Lily interrupted.

"Really?" Emily asked. "Huh, who knew? Let's go with that list then, since I don't think that any of the Head Boys weren't prefects, at least while we've been in school. So out of my list my choice is Remus."

Lily smiled, "I hope so. I don't think I could stand it if it were Snape. I might have to risk Azkaban and kill him."

Emily chuckled, "Besides aren't the Head Students supposed to be fair and all, there's no way that Snape would be. He'd favor the Slytherins so much it would be disgusting. Stupid bastard." Emily muttered into the phone.

Lily laughed again, "I know, god I really can't stand him. I really want to know what crawled up his as… er, butt." Lily said glancing at her mother. "Oh, my mum said that I could have you all here for a week, I'm not sure when though, she still has to talk to my dad about it."

"Excellent." Emily replied. "Just as long as your dad doesn't take us to see any more movies. I think one trauma in a lifetime is enough."

Lily grinned, "Deal. Listen, my mum wants me to get off the phone," Lily said looking at her mother, who was motioning to Lily, "I'll call you when everything's all set up."

"Okay, I'll talk to you soon, Lil. And congratulations again."

"Thanks. Bye."

"Bye."

"Mum, this is amazing; I've wanted to be Head Girl forever."

Mrs. Evans hugged her daughter, "I know you have, honey. I'm so proud of you."

* * *

Lily walked into her family room, where her father was watching T.V., "Daddy, you're sure you're going to be okay with my friends here for the next week?"

Mr. Evans glanced around, "Lily, I'm sure that I can handle having five teenagers in the house."

Lily grinned, "That's what you thought last time."

He grinned back, "So I did. But I've learned my lesson for this time."

Lily laughed, "Okay, good, because they should be here any minute." Just then there was a knock on the door, "See, I told you." Lily bounded over to the door, "Hey!" She said hugging Dorcas.

"Hey Lily, it's great to see you." Dorcas said hugging Lily hard. "Is anyone else here yet?"

"No, you're the first." Lily replied. "Come on in. You can go throw your stuff up in my room."

"'K, I'll be right down."

Within the hour all five girls where sitting in Lily's bedroom giggling. "It's nice to get out of the house for a while." Marlie said. "Mum has barely let me out of the house since summer started."

"Tell me about it." Dorcas muttered.

"It's times like these that make me happy to be muggle born, how about you, Lil?"

"Yeah, mum and dad don't know anything about what's going on, so they don't have a problem letting me go out and everything, but I just don't really feel like it most times. I'd rather stay here than put myself out there, you know?"

The other girls nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it's dangerous wondering around. It sort of pains me to say this, but I'm looking forward to school starting again. I don't know what I'm going to do next year, when we won't have Hogwarts to go back to." Alice said.

"I know. It's going to be so strange to be out on our own." Emily added.

"The auror academy is probably the second safest place in the world. I mean it doesn't have Dumbledore, but it does have just about all the most powerful witches and wizards there."

"That makes it a target too though, doesn't it? If all of the most powerful people are centered there." Marlie muttered.

Alice shook her head, "Come on guys, let's stop talking about this, it's going to be there either way, but sometimes we need to relax and stop worrying about it for a while."

"You're right. Come on, let's go swimming for a while, that should take our minds off this." Lily agreed.

The last night before the girls were supposed to leave had them all up late. "And you still don't know who the Head Boy is?" Dorcas asked.

"No, I can't figure it out." Lily answered.

"That must be killing you." Alice laughed. "Not being able to figure it out."

Lily nodded her head in agreement. "At this point I don't really care who it is as long as it's not Snape. I think that I'd have to resign if it was Snape."

"I don't think anyone would blame you if you resigned if you had to work with Snape." Emily agreed.

"It's not Snape." Marlie said.

"How do you know?" Lily asked.

"Ryan's parents know Snape's mum. They met at some party or something a couple of weeks ago. Anyway, she was going on about how disappointed that her little Severus wasn't going to be Head Boy."

Lily shuddered and curled her lip, "The thought of anyone calling Snape their little Severus is more than a little disgusting; I think finding out that Snape isn't the Head Boy is enough to make my night. No, I think it might have just made my year." They all giggled.

"So, Lily, how is James?" Emily asked, more than a little deviously.

Lily raised her eyebrow, "He's doing well, as far as I know."

Alice raised her own eyebrows, "As far as you know? I thought that the two of you were attached at the hip."

"I don't think that's what their attached at." Dorcas muttered, "At least not from the side."

All the girls laughed and Lily turned bright red. "Oh, shove off." Lily said throwing her pillow at Dorcas.

"Notice who she doesn't deny that she and James are having…"

Lily grabbed another pillow and tried to smack Dorcas, unfortunately for Emily, Dorcas ducked and Lily hit Emily in the face. "Hey!" Emily yelled picking up her own pillow. Giggling all the girls got into an enormous pillow fight.

Out of breath they flopped down where they were. "So, Lily, have you and James had sex yet?"

Lily raised her eyebrow, "Why are you guys so interested in my sex life?"

Marlie giggled, "So you do have a sex life, huh?"

Lily rolled her eyes, "Alright, fine, yes, James and I've had sex."

"I knew it!" Dorcas said.

Emily raised her eyebrows, "Why are you so excited about the fact that James and Lily've had sex? It's a little weird."

Dorcas shrugged, "Well, I'm not getting any, so I have to live vicariously through someone."

Lily narrowed her eyes, "Marlie and Alice have sex too."

"Yeah, but we've known about that for ages. This is still new enough to be interesting."

"So, Lily," Alice interrupted, "How is it?"

Lily smiled slowly with a devious glint in her eyes, "Amazing."

The girls all smiled, "How about on a scale of one to ten?" Marlie asked.

Lily grinned widely, "About a hundred."

"Wow." Marlie sighed.

"Tell me about it." Lily murmured.

Dorcas got up off the floor and joined Lily up on her bed, "So, this goes to the three of you," she said looking a Lily, Marlie, and Alice, "what was the hottest time and place you've had sex?"

The three girls looked at one another, "I have an idea," Emily said when none of them answered, "why don't we go in alphabetical order."

"Yeah, I think that's a great idea." Marlie said.

"That's only because your name comes after mine and Lily's."

"Damn right." Marlie agreed.

"Okay then, Alice, your top spot." Dorcas said.

"Oh, alright," Alice murmured, "Frank took me to this great restaurant for our anniversary, afterwards he took me to his apartment, he had candles and flowers all over," she sighed dreamily, "it was amazing."

"Wow, that's so romantic." Emily sighed; all the girls nodded their agreement. "So, you're next, Lily."

"Okay." Lily said resigned. "You remember the day that we made up from our fight?" She asked looking at Marlie.

"Yeah."

"Well, after you all went to bed I met James in the common room. We snuck out and were going to go for a walk, but we only made it down to the fifth floor before we were pulling each other into that empty classroom."

"Bloody hell, you had sex on a desk? Lily Evans?" Alice asked wide eyed.

"Not that time." Lily muttered.

"What do you mean not that time?" Emily asked.

"It was against the wall." Lily replied.

"Holy shit! Who would have thought?" Dorcas replied. "I didn't think that you had it you."

"Wait… Have you had sex on a desk?" Marlie asked.

Lily blushed a darker red than she already was, "Once."

"Which one?" Emily asked.

At the same time Lily mumbled, "Or twice." They all stared at her with huge eyes.

"On Professor Templeton's in Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom."

Marlie shook her head at Lily, "I don't think that I can beat that. I was going to say that my first time with Ryan, we had sex in the bath in the Prefect's bathroom." She caught the glint in Lily's eyes, "Merlin's beard."

The other girls looked over at Lily, "Bloody hell, Lily. What are you a nympho?"

Lily giggled, "Of course not."

"Is there anywhere that you and James haven't had sex?" Emily asked in amazement.

"Of course there is." Lily replied.

The other girls raised her eyebrows at her, "Name one place. So far we've found out that you and James've had sex in the Prefect's bathroom, in empty and used classrooms, so where haven't you two done it?"

"Er," Lily thought for a second and sent her friends into hysterical laughter, "our room."

Alice laughed slightly harder, "That's because he can't get into our room." Lily only shrugged.

* * *

A week later Lily was sitting in the family room watching T.V. with her father. "Lily, did you get everything you needed for school?"

"Yeah, we didn't really need that much, just a couple of books for Defense Against the Dark Arts, and some new quills, ink, and parchment."

"That's good. Your mother and I are so proud of you darling."

Lily smiled, "Thanks, daddy." Mr. Evans ran a hand affectionately over Lily's hair. "I can't believe that you're almost grown up."

Lily looked at her father strangely, "Er, okay."

Mr. Evans laughed, "You can't understand now, you'll have to wait until your children are your age."

Lily laughed, "Okay. What's gotten into you, daddy?"

Mr. Evans shook his head, "Nothing, sweetheart. I've just been in a strange mood since Petunia got married. It just got me thinking that my little girls are young women now. Next thing I know I'm going to be walking you down the isle."

Lily blushed, "That's not going to be for a little while yet, daddy."

"Thank god, because I need a little bit of a break." Both Lily and her father chuckled slightly.

They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Lily yawned and leaned over to kiss her father's cheek, "I'm going to go to bed; I'm pretty tired. I'll see you in the morning daddy."

"Alright, sweetheart. Goodnight." Mr. Evans said. "Oh, before you go to bed."

Lily stopped and turned around, "What?"

"Has Hamlet come back yet?"

Lily's brow furrowed and she shrugged, "No, but he's only been gone a little over a week. Sometimes he takes a while to get back. Why?"

"I was just wondering." Mr. Evans replied.

Lily stared at her father for a minute, "About what?"

He shrugged, "Mum wanted you to invite the Potters over for dinner in your next letter to James, so I was wondering if Hamlet had come back yet."

Lily blinked, "Oh, okay. When he gets back I write James and tell him."

"Goodnight, Lily."

"Night, daddy."

Lily climbed the stairs to her bedroom, _that was weird_. She thought. She tried to shrug it off, but something kept bothering her. Lily took her wand out of her back pocket, where she had recently taken to keeping it, and placed it on her night table. She quickly changed into her pajamas, got into bed, and turned out the light.

Lily stared into the dark for a long time; she glanced at the luminescent numbers on her clock, "Five after one, bloody hell." She said, taking a sip of the water she habitually kept on her night table, then rolled to her stomach and willed herself to sleep.

The loud crack had her shooting up in bed and her hand grasping for her wand, and thoughts of deatheaters running through her head before she was awake enough to register the sound of weeping. "Lumos." She mumbled.

She immediately recognized the dark head and dropped her wand, "James?" She crawled to the edge of her bed, where James was sitting. "James what's going on?" She saw his shoulders, "What's happened?"

She sat next to him on the bed, grabbed his face in her hands, her stomach dropped at the sight of tears on his face. "What's happened? Are you alright?"

James looked at her and the blank look on his face broke her heart. "Please tell me what's happened."

"My… my… my dad." James sputtered. Then surprised Lily by gabbing on to her and burying his face in her neck.

Lily grabbed her wand, waved it. _That should keep anyone from hearing anything_. She didn't know what to do for James, she could feel his tears on her shoulder and she still didn't know what had happened. So Lily did the first thing that came to mind, she rubbed his back, rocked and murmured to him.

It was almost an hour later when his shudders had stopped. Lily kissed his forehead and tried again. "James, what happened?"

James sat up, looked at Lily and his eyes were devastated, "He was sick. You remember when he was here?" Lily nodded. "It was more than a cold, and he, Merlin, Lily, he died." James answered in a hollow voice.

Lily's eyes went wide, "Oh, god, James, I'm so sorry." She would have pulled him into her arms again, but he'd jumped off her bed and was pacing her room.

"And the worst part was they knew he was sick, the both of them, and they didn't tell me." He said picking up the glass on her night table and draining it.

Lily wasn't sure how to handle James, she'd never seen him like this, so she decided to go with her instincts, "They probably didn't want to worry you."

"Worry me? Who cares if I was worried, they should have told me." James spat. _Okay, wrong thing to say_. Lily thought. "I didn't even get to say goodbye to him." James yelled and threw the glass across the room, causing Lily to jump.

He rubbed his hands over his face, "Merlin, I'm sorry Lily, I didn't mean to scare you." James said making an effort to reign in his temper. "I'm just so angry and, I just, I had to get away. And I needed you. I still do."

Lily swallowed; James' eyes were dark and focused on her. She stepped forward, "I'm here."

James grabbed her arms and pulled her roughly against him. He looked into her eyes and Lily met his stare head on. James crushed his mouth to hers, almost brutally, and swallowed her gasp. Lily's heart pounded as James nipped his way from her mouth to her neck and back again. James pulled himself away from her mouth only to pull her shirt over her head. He filled his hands with her breasts and reveled in her gasping moan.

Lily's own hands worked their way to the hem of his shirt. She discarded it quickly and tossed it in the general direction of hers. She grunted when James pushed her against the wall and boosted herself up to wrap her legs around his waist. Her nails dug into his shoulders and scraped down his back when he took her breast into his mouth. The little pricks of pain fueled him on, his hand snaking under the elastic of her shorts and panties. And using just his fingers; brought Lily to peak.

James dropped her on the bed and quickly stripped her of her remaining clothes. "Again," He muttered, before using his mouth on her, "again." Lily arched into him, one hand fisting in the bed sheets, the other pressing James's head closer to her.

After the second orgasm ripped through her Lily went wild under James. She tore at his clothes and rolled over the bed with him when he, too, was naked. James' hands gripped her hips hard enough to bruise as she filled herself with him. Twin moans of pleasure filled the air. James reared up, caught her mouth with his own as Lily rode them both towards insanity.

"Are we still breathing?" Lily asked some time later, when she was able to speak again.

"I don't know, but your heart's still beating." James replied.

"Oh, well, that's good then." Lily shifted so that she was lying next to, rather than on James. "Are you feeling any better?"

James kissed the top of her head and pulled her closer to him, "Some." He admitted. "But, Merlin, Lily, he's gone, and I'll never see him again. I didn't know he was sick, so I didn't get the chance to tell him I love him, and he died thinking that I was nothing but a disappointment to him. I didn't get the chance to tell him that I was Head Boy." Lily sucked in a surprised breath, "He always wanted me to be Head Boy, he was so disappointed when I wasn't made prefect."

"James," Lily interrupted, "your dad didn't think that you were a disappointment. You could see how much he loved when you two were in the same room together, or whenever he talked about you for that matter."

"Just because he loved me doesn't mean that he was proud of me."

"No." Lily agreed. "But he was; I could tell whenever he looked at you."

James ran a hand down her side, "Thank you."

Lily touched a hand to his cheek, kissed his lips lightly. "It's the truth."

"Lily, I can't go back. Not now at least. He died at home and I, er, I just can't stand to be there right now."

"You can stay here if you want." Lily replied.

"What about your parents?"

Lily sighed, "We can think of something in the morning."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, don't worry about it." Lily replied kissing him softly again, "Just try to get some sleep."

"Thank you, Lily."

"You don't have to thank me James, I love you."

James kissed the crown of her head, "I love you too."

"James," Lily asked suddenly.

"Hmm?" He replied sleepily.

"Does your mum know where you are?"

James thought about it for a moment, "I don't know. I was so upset about my dad, and then when I found out that he and my mum knew he was sick I was so angry. I don't remember if I told my mum that I was coming here or not. I might have just apparated; it's kind of a blur right now."

"Okay." Lily responded. "We'll leave it for now, but we're going to have to tell her in the morning where you are."

"I know."

Lily waited until James fell asleep before she got out of bed, quickly dressed, brushed out her hair, and hid any evidence of what she and James had been up to. Then she grabbed her wand and disapparated. She appeared with a pop in front of James house, and prepared herself to go talk to him mother.

Lily walked quickly to the door and knocked loudly. "Jimmy!" Mrs. Potter called, flinging open the door. "Oh, Lily, Jimmy isn't here, I don't know where he is. I'm sorry; this is such a bad time." Mrs. Potter said and then burst into tears.

Lily did what came naturally and hugged Mrs. Potter. "I'm so sorry, Mrs. Potter."

"I've been married to Grayson for most of my life; I don't know what I'm going to do without him. And Jimmy, he adored his father, he's so angry and upset, and I don't know where he is. Anything could happen to him." Mrs. Potter sobbed.

"Mrs. Potter, James is at my house." Lily continued hurriedly when Mrs. Potter blinked at her, "When he told me what happened and that you didn't know where he was I figured that you would be worried, so I came here."

Lily shifted uncomfortably when Mrs. Potter just stared at her. "Oh, yes, of course. I tried Sirius, Remus, and Peter, and none of them had seen Jimmy, I didn't think to try you. I'm sorry."

"No, don't be." Lily waved it off. "Mrs. Potter, do you want to me to call on anyone, you shouldn't be here by yourself, especially after tonight."

Mrs. Potter patted Lily's cheek, "You're a good girl. So good for my Jimmy." Lily blinked at her, "I'm not alone, dear, when I told Sirius what had happened he came right over."

The words had barely left her mouth when the shout of, "Mrs. P?" Came out the door. "Mrs. P are you out here?" Sirius asked coming out of the house, "Lily?"

Lily reached out and squeezed Sirius' hand, "I'm sorry."

Sirius felt his eyes well up, viciously fought back the tears, and nodded at her. "James is with you?"

"Yes."

He nodded again. "Good. Mrs. P come on inside, you should get some rest. Lily can you have James back by," he glanced down at his watch, "two tomorrow."

"Yeah, sure. Goodnight Mrs. Potter, Sirius. Let me know if there's anything that I can do." Lily said kissing each of their cheeks in turn.

"Just take care of James, for now." Sirius replied.

Lily nodded at him and apparated back home. She quickly pulled off her clothes and tugged James' shirt over her head. She climbed softly back into the bed and set the alarm for ten, sighing when she realized that would only give four and a half hours of sleep. Then she snuggled into James and promptly passed out.

The irritating buzzing worked its way into Lily's foggy mind and she flung her arm out to smack at her alarm clock. "Bloody hell." She muttered as she sent the alarm clock crashing to the floor.

"Finally." She heard James mutter. "That has got to be the most annoying thing that I've ever heard. And that includes the time the Sirius got drunk and was sinning at four in the morning."

Lily stretched, "I know, but it usually gets me up in the morning." She looked at James, "How are you feeling?"

James eyes unfocused for a second, "It hurts." He said after a moment.

Lily shifted to place a hand on his cheek, "I know."

"Thank you for being here for me. I know that I was a bit…" He waved his hand in the air.

Lily kissed his forehead, "You were entitled."

James sighed, "I'm going to have to go home. I need to tell my mum where I am. She's probably worried out of her mind."

"I went to see her last night."

James' brow furrowed, "When did you go see my mum?"

"After you fell asleep, I didn't want her to worry, with everything going on."

"Huh." James said. "Thanks. How was she, I shouldn't have left like that. She shouldn't be alone in the house right now." He sat up, rubbed a hand over his face, "I've got to be the most selfish son of a bitch in the world." He got out of bed, started searching for his clothes.

"James, you can take some time for yourself at a time like this, no one is going to blame you for it."

"I'll blame myself." He replied pulling on his pants.

"James." Lily said getting out of bed. She hooked her arms around his neck and his came to rest on her waist. "You take on too much sometimes." She shook her head, "And your mum isn't alone. Sirius came over to stay with her when he heard about your dad."

James sighed, "I'm glad that someone was with her. I'm going to have to go home to be with them."

"I know." Lily replied. "Are you going to be alright?"

"I'll be fine."

"James, I want to know if you're going to be okay." Lily said with an eyebrow raised.

"I don't know. I'm going to need to be alright. I'm not going to let my mum and Sirius be there alone, I need to be there as well."

"Do you want me to stay with you?"

James rested his forehead on Lily's. "I appreciate it, but I think I need to spend time with just my family."

Lily ignored the little stab of hurt, "Alright."

"I'm going to need you at the funeral."

"Of course."

"I'll tell you when it is." James hugged her fiercely, "Thank Merlin for you."

Lily could do nothing but hug him back and wait out the storm of emotion. When James stepped back Lily grabbed her robe, took off James' shirt, and pulled on the robe.

James took his shirt and tugged it over his head. "I'll be back tonight." He said giving Lily a kiss, then disparating.


	13. Chapter 12

A/N: I'm so sorry about the long wait for this chapter. This summer has been kind of crappy, and among other things I haven't been allowed on the computer. So I have a bunch of chapters hand written, but it's going to be hell to try to type them, as I'm only supposed to be on the computer for school work. And telling my parents that I had a last minute English project was the only was I could get on the damn thing. Anyway, the whole point of that long story was to let you all know that I'll update whenever I get the chance.

_A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous. – Ingrid Bergman_

_So shalt thou feed on Death that feeds on men; And Death once dead, there's no more dying then. - William Shakespeare_

**Chapter Twelve**

Lily hugged her arms tight around herself and let the tears she'd been holding back fall. Shoulders shaking, she walked to the side of her bed to pick up the alarm clock that she had sent crashing to the floor, and cursed viciously when she stepped on a sliver of glass, "Bloody, fucking, son of a bitch."

She grabbed her wand, waved it and had the glass returning to her bedside table, fully repaired. Then she sat on the bed and quickly healed the slice on her foot. She glanced around the room to see if there was any other evidence of James spending the night there, when she saw that there wasn't she quickly put her pajamas back on and went down to breakfast.

"Oh, Lily, I was just about to come up and wake you." Mrs. Evans said not turning around from the stove. "Pancakes?"

Lily blinked, "Er, yeah, sure." She replied in a raw voice.

Mr. Evans glanced up from the Newspaper that he was reading and Mrs. Evans turned around. "Lily, are you alright?"

Lily cleared her throat, "Yeah, I'm fine. I think I'm just getting a cold is all." She lied. She didn't want to tell them about Mr. Potter just yet; there would have been no way for her to know unless James had been there the night before.

Mr. and Mrs. Evans glanced at each other, "Sweetheart, it looks like you've been crying." Mr. Evans said.

Lily shrugged, "No, I'm fine. I'm just getting a bit sick."

Mrs. Evans narrowed her eyes at her daughter, but shook her head at her husband when he went to question Lily further. "Alright." She poured Lily a glass of orange juice, "Here, drink this, it'll help with your cold."

"Thanks." Lily muttered.

"Petunia just called, she and Vernon have gotten everything settled in their new house; they want to have us and Vernon's family over for dinner. And since the house is all the way in Surry we'll have to spend the night, Petunia is very excited about it. Do you want to come?"

Lily didn't have to think about it, "No, thanks."

"Lily."

Lily felt her temper rise, she purposefully set the glass of juice down, "Mum, you know as well as I do that Petunia and Vernon do not want me at their house anymore than I want to be there."

"You girls are sisters; you should at least try to get along." Mrs. Evans replied. "At least Petunia was trying last Christmas."

Lily managed to hold back a snort, barely. "Yeah, Petunia's a real angel."

"Lily." Mr. Evans said sharply.

"What?" Lily replied raising her voice enough to have her parents raising their eyebrows at her.

"You mind your tone with us, young lady." Mr. Evans said. "You might not be a child anymore, but we're still your parents, and you will respect that."

Lily laughed hollowly, "Fine, I'll watch my tone with you. But, Petunia and I are never going to get along. I've tried for years to be nice to her, but I'm bloody sick and tired of it. I'm tired of pretending to be something I'm not when she's around, I'm tired of being called a freak, I'm tired of the looks and the insults and, and, and everything else." She yelled, wiping the tears from her face. She turned on her heel and stormed back up to her bedroom.

"Where did that come from?" Mr. Evans asked. "I don't think Lily's ever spoken to us like that."

"I don't know Michael. Something was bothering her when she came down this morning."

"Should we go up and talk to her?" He asked.

Mrs. Evans glanced up at the ceiling, "No, not now at least. Let's give her some time to herself. We'll talk to her tomorrow, when we get back from Petunia's."

"I can't believe they really think that I would go to Petunia's voluntarily." Lily mumbled to herself as she paced her room. Then she flopped down on her bed, "And I can't believe that I'm worried about not getting on with my sister, bloody hell, James' father just died, and I'm pissy over Petunia." She took a deep breath. "Okay, I've got to get over her, she doesn't like me, and I don't like her. Case closed. Just now I never have to deal with her again, if I don't want to."

"Okay, that's better." She decided when she felt herself calming down. "Now I just need to figure out what I can do to help James."

Lily was lying on her bed staring through a book, rather than reading it, when her mother knocked. She quickly wiped the tears from her face. "Lily, we're leaving." She said sitting down next to Lily. "Oh, Lily, I wish you would tell me what's wrong."

Lily looked at her mother for a second then launched herself into her arms. Mrs. Evans, taken off guard for a moment, jolted in surprise before wrapping her arms around her daughter. "Lily, please tell me."

Lily glanced up, sniffed, "It's not fair mum." She cried.

"What's not fair, honey?" Mrs. Evans asked stroking a hand over Lily's hair.

"He's dead, he was a good, man and he's dead. Why do good people have to die, why can't it be people who deserve it? It's not fair."

Mrs. Evan's stomach clutched, _childhood_ she thought_ ends much too quickly_. "Who's dead?"

"James' dad and I don't know what to do for him."

"Oh." Mrs. Evans said softly, remembering the man she had met in her kitchen a few weeks before, "I'm sorry. When did it happen?"

"Last night. It was in this morning's paper."

"That's what was bothering you this morning?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry that I spoke to you and daddy the way I did. It's just I…" Lily trailed off, unable to express how she had been feeling.

"It's alright, darling. Have you seen James?" Lily hesitated, unsure of how to reply. Mrs. Evans looked at Lily and sighed, thinking of the crack that had awakened her briefly in the middle of the night. "He was here last night." She stated.

Lily didn't meet her mother's eye, simply nodded. "It wasn't the first time was it?" Mrs. Evans asked, though she knew the answer. Again Lily didn't answer, but she felt the blush creep up from her neck. Mrs. Evans sighed again, it had been hard enough accepting the fact that Petunia had been with a man, but Lily was her baby. "You are being responsible aren't you?"

Lily nodded mutely again, then panic stricken, "You're not going to tell daddy are you?" She burst out.

"No, I don't think your father can take that right now. We'll keep it between the two of us."

Lily nodded again with a mumbled, "Thanks."

"Sarah?" Mr. Evans called, "Sarah, what's taking you so long?" He asked poking his head into Lily's room. "Lily, why are you crying? What's going on?"

Lily and her mother looked at one another, "Grayson Potter just passed away." Mrs. Evans murmured to her husband getting up to join him by the door.

Mr. Evans' eyes softened, "Oh, er, give James our condolences when you write to him next." Lily nodded, didn't meet her mother's eye.

"Do you know when the services are going to be?"

"No, soon I'd imagine." Lily mumbled.

"Let us know when you find out." Mrs. Evans said, "Your father and I would like to go." Mr. Evans nodded in agreement.

"Alright."

Mrs. Evans walked back to her daughter, ran her hand over Lily's hair, "I've left you some food in the refrigerator; all you have to do is heat it up."

Lily nodded, "Thanks."

Mrs. Evans sighed, "You and I need to have a talk tomorrow when your father and I get home."

Lily nodded, "I know."

Mr. Evans looked from his wife to his daughter with narrowed eyes, Mrs. Evans shook her head at him, "It's a mother-daughter thing." She murmured to him.

"Lily, we should be back by one tomorrow afternoon." Mr. Evans said.

Lily glanced at her clock; it was four thirty, "Okay." She replied. "I love you, both of you."

"Sweetheart, we love you too." Mr. Evans said.

Lily sighed loudly when she heard the front door close. _It could have been worse._ She decided lying back down on her bed. She stared at the ceiling finding she couldn't muster the energy to do anything else. Lily closed her eyes for a moment and found it was dark when she opened them again it was dark. She groped for the alarm clock, "Bloody hell, it's nine fifteen." She shook her head in disbelief.

She stretched slightly then made her way down to the kitchen to find herself something to eat. She opened the door to the refrigerator and looked at the contents without much interest.

"Lily?" Lily screamed and turned around.

"Jesus bleeding Christ, James." Lily said placing a hand over her heart. "You scared me."

"I'm sorry." James replied. "I didn't mean to."

"How long have you been here?" Lily asked.

"Not very. I saw that you were sleeping and I didn't want to wake you."

"Oh, thanks I guess. But you should have." Lily said. "How are you? How's your mum doing?"

James shrugged, "As best as can be expected I guess, for the both of us."

Lily hugged James and pulled him close to her. "I'm so sorry that you have to go through this." She said as James buried his face in her hair.

"It's so weird being home without him there, and knowing that he's never going to be there again."

Lily looked up at him, her eyes full of sympathy, and rubbed his cheek with her hand, "I know."

James kissed her forehead, "And it's just, Merlin, I never even got to say goodbye to him." He said, his voice choking. "I didn't know and I wasn't there, I was with Remus, Sirius, and Peter. I was out with my friends because I didn't know he was dying and now I'll never see him again."

"James." Lily said softly. "It's not your fault. There was a reason that your parents didn't tell you. Your dad probably didn't want you to see him like that, and knowing your dad, he probably would have liked it better that you were with your best friends when it happened. You can't beat yourself up over something that you had no control over. All you can do now is be there for your mum."

James rested his forehead on Lily's, "Thank you."

Lily looked at him questioningly, "For what?"

"Everything you've done for me."

"James."

"No, and even if I was a bit of an ass this morning. I know I hurt you when I told you I didn't want you around."

Lily shrugged, "Doesn't matter, and I figure that you're entitle."

James kissed her softly, "I love you."

"I love you too, James."

"The service is going to be the day after tomorrow. I'm going to need you there."

"Of course." Lily said without hesitation. "My parents said that they'd like to come too, when I told them about, er, what had happened."

"Yeah," James said, "that would be nice. I know I'd appreciate that, and I think mum would too."

"Okay, I'll, I dunno, apparate them over or something."

"Where are your parents anyway?"

"They're at my sister's house in Surrey. They'll be back tomorrow afternoon." Lily replied kissing James lightly.

The kiss, which Lily had meant to be quick and comforting, quickly turned more passionate. James' hand ran up Lily's back and fisted in her hair as he backed her against the counter while she nipped at his lower lip.

James quickly disposed of Lily's shirt, and frowned at the bruises on her upper arms. Lily, leaning back against the counter and breathing heavily, slowly opened her eyes. "What?" She asked.

"Are those from last night?" James asked running his finger over the bruises.

Lily looked down, "Mmm, yeah, I think."

James looked disgusted with himself, "I did that to you. Merlin, Lily, I'm sorry, why didn't you tell me I was hurting you."

Lily smiled, thoroughly confusing James, and shrugged, "I honestly didn't notice." James narrowed his eyes at her, "Seriously." She added. "James, they're not bad, they don't even hurt."

"Are their more?" He asked still looking concerned. Lily shook her head in exasperation. "Lily did I put any more bruises on you."

Lily looked him in the eye, "Here and there. But James they weren't on purpose and I didn't even know they were there until I took a shower this morning. And Merlin knows they were worth it."

But James wasn't listening to her, "Where?" He asked.

Lily rolled her eyes, "Did you even listen to what I just said?"

"Lily, where?" James asked softly.

Lily rolled her eyes again. She showed him the insides of her wrists which had dark smudges on them; then as James eyed her narrowly she slipped out of her shorts to show him the finger shaped smudges on her hips. "James I've had worse walking into things, I wish that you'd stop worr…"

She didn't get the chance to finish her sentence because James silenced her with his lips. "Stop talking, Lily."

Lily pouted, but the pout fell from her face as James took her face in his hands and kissed her gently. She could all but feel her eyes roll back in her head as the bones in her legs turning to liquid. "I never meant to hurt you." Lily opened her mouth, but James silenced her with a look. He moved from her lips to the bruises on her biceps placing butterfly kisses on each before moving on. "You're such a strong person that sometimes, like last night; I forget that you're delicate."

"I'm not fragile James…" Lily murmured.

James took each of Lily's wrists in his hands and kissed them softly, "I'm talking now love." He replied. "No, you're not fragile, you're delicate, there's a difference. You're amazing, perfect."

Lily shook her head, "Not perfect." Was all she could manage.

"You've flaws, yes, but to me, _for_ me you're perfect. You bring out the best in me. You make me want to be a better person, and I am better than I was before, thanks to you." James bent to knees in front of Lily to place kisses on the bruises on her hips before standing in front of her again. He waved his wand and had their discarded clothes zooming up the stairs; he placed the wand in the back pocket of his pants before he picked Lily up so that she was cradled in his arms.

Lily looked at him through wet lashes, "You bring out the best in me too. You balance me, make me… whole." She whispered as he laid her gently on the bed.

"You are the most amazing person I've ever known in my life. I want to promise that I'll never hurt you, in any way, ever again. But I can't it wouldn't be true, I'll leave marks on you again."

Lily looked up at him, "I know." Then she smiled, "I'll probably bruise you some too."

James chuckled softly, as he removed her bra and panties. "I know." He kissed her softly as he settled himself between her legs, Lily's hips bucked involuntarily. James placed his hands on either side of her face as he kissed her softly, "I love you more than life itself, you're mine, Lily." He said as he pushed himself into her.

Lily's vision blurred as he thrust slowly in and out of her. "Always." She said her voice catching. "Always," she repeated, "and you mine, James." She added capturing his face between her hands and pulling him down to kiss her.

She gasped as he began to thrust harder, but her eyes stayed open and on his as her hips matched his pace. "Yes." He groaned against her lips, "Forever." And they watched each other as they both went over the edge, simultaneously.

Lily adjusted the hem of her black dress for what seemed like the hundredth time as her mother walked into the room. "Lily your father and I are ready. I think that you should bring your father to the Potter's house soon, so that you and I will have a moment to talk."

"Alright, mum." Lily said stepping away from her mother. "Daddy, I'll bring you now if you're ready."

Mr. Evans looked up from the paper he was reading. "Terrible." He muttered. "A gas explosion in Bristol; killed fifty seven people."

Lily glanced at the paper, and her lips tightened as she remembered reading about the giant attacks in that mornings Daily Prophet. "Yeah." She said noncommittally. "Remember to hold on to me, alright Daddy?"

"Alright." He replied not looking to happy about the situation. "Let's get this over with then."

Lily nodded and held out her arm, "On the count of three; one, two, three." She said with a pop.

With a second pop Lily and her father appeared outside James' house. "Wow." Mr. Evans said. "That is absolutely the oddest sensation of my life."

"It does take some getting used to." Lily agreed. They walked to the front door in silence; she knocked on the door and was surprised to find Mrs. Potter answering the door herself. "Hello, Mrs. Potter."

"Lily, dear. Thank you for coming." She said pulling Lily into a tight hug.

"Of course. Mrs. Potter this is my father Michael Evans. Dad this is Isadora Potter."

"I'm sorry to meet you under these circumstances." Mr. Evans said. "Your husband was a good man."

Mrs. Potter smiled slightly, "Yes, he was."

"Mrs. Potter I've just got to apparate back home so I can get my mum, I'll be back soon."

"Yes, of course dear. I'll tell Jimmy that you're here if I see him."

"Thank you. Daddy, I'll be back in a minute with mum." Mr. Evans nodded at her, then with a pop she was back in her living room.

"Lily. Lord you frightened me." Mrs. Evan said.

"Sorry mum."

"No, no, that's alright." Mrs. Evans said with a wave of her hand. "Before we go I want to talk to you. This cannot be avoided anymore, Lily."

Lily shifted uncomfortably. "I know."

"Do you love him?"

"Yes, more than I can say."

Mrs. Evans nodded, "Lord this is uncomfortable for me."

Lily let out a short laugh. "Tell me about it.

Mrs. Evans sighed, "It's hard for me to think of you as anything other than my little girl. It's very difficult for me to think of you as a young woman now. And the thought of you having… of doing… of being with a man is hard for me."

"I know mum. And I know that you and daddy would've rather me waited until marriage, and you must be disappointed in me, but…"

"Did I say I was disappointed in you?" Mrs. Evans asked.

"No, but, still." Lily said waving her hand helplessly.  
Mrs. Evans kissed her daughter on the forehead, "I'm not disappointed in you Lily. You love him, and he loves you, yes?" Lily nodded in affirmation. "And you're not doing anything you're not ready for?" Lily shook her head in response. "Well then, okay. Though I don't think that we'll tell daddy, I don't think he could handle it."

Lily smiled, "I love you, mum."

"I love you too, baby." Mrs. Evans blew out a breath. "Okay, let's, what did you call it, appertate, over there."

Lily smiled again, "Apparate." She said holding out her arm. "Hold on; one, two, three."


	14. Chapter 13

_Childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason grows. – John Betjeman_

_No amount of study or learning will make a man a leader unless he has the natural qualities of one. – Archibald Wavell_

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Chapter Thirteen**

"Woah." Mrs. Evans said as they appeared in front of the Potter's home. "That has to be the oddest sensation I've ever felt. It's rather like being squeezed all around like you're going through a, er…." She trailed off.

"A rubber gardening hose?" Lily asked helpfully.

Mrs. Evans stared at her daughter for a moment, "Yes, actually. Bloody odd."

Lily smiled at her mother, "That's what I thought the first time that I did it. It does take some getting used to."

"Well then." Mrs. Evans said. "I suppose we should go in then."

Lily nodded in agreement and walked to the front door again; and, again, Mrs. Potter opened the door. "Hi, Mrs. Potter." She said softly.

Mrs. Potter's eyes filled with tears, "Hello again, Lily. This must be your mother."

"Yes, I'm Sarah. I'm sorry to meet you like this, but please tell me if there's anything that I can do for you." Mrs. Evans said.

"Thank you." Mrs. Potter said softly. "I'm Isadora, please come in. I believe that Michael is in the front parlor."

"Thanks." Lily said reaching out to squeeze Mrs. Potter's arms. "Come on mum, let's go find daddy."

They found Mr. Evans sitting in the parlor staring suspiciously at one of the paintings. "Sarah, Lily." He said jumping up. "I'm not sure if I'm going a little insane, but I think that that portrait keeps looking at me. Every time I move its eyes are on me." Mrs. Evans just stared at her husband as if he had two heads. "It does." He hissed.

Lily look at her father, slightly amused. "Probably."

"What?" Mrs. Evans asked.

"It probably is following daddy." Lily repeated. "You know those pictures I showed you, where the people in them move?"

"Yes." Mrs. Evans said.

"The portraits do the same thing. The entrance to Gryffindor has a portrait outside of it. You have to tell her the password to get in, which can be a problem if she's sleeping. She doesn't like to be woken up."

Mrs. Evans shook her head, while Mr. Evans smirked at his wife, "I told you it was following me with its eyes."

"Lily."

Lily turned around to see James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and Gideon standing in the doorway. "James." She said walking to him and giving him a hug, and a soft kiss. "Sirius," she said stepping to him and kissing his cheek, "I'm so sorry, for both of you."

"Thanks." Sirius muttered.

Lily looked at him sadly; he looked lost. She squeezed his hand, "When I first met him he talked about you just like he did James. With equal parts bafflement, exasperation, and pride," she said looking at James, "but mostly with love."

Sirius hugged her, "Thank you for that." He whispered to her.

She nodded at him, "Hi, Peter, Remus, Gideon." They all gave her small smiles. The sound of a soft cough had her turning around. "Oh, mum, dad, I'm sorry I forgot that you didn't …. You both know James."

"Yes, we're very sorry to hear about you father, James. He was a very nice man." Mrs. Evans said hugging James while Mr. Evans clapped his back several times.

"Thank you." James replied.

"Okay, mum, dad, these are mine and James' friends; Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and Gideon Prewitt. They share a dorm with James."

"Hello, boys." Mr. Evans said. They all mumbled their hellos.

"James, Sirius!" Called a voice from the doorway, "Your mum told us we could find you here." Everyone turned to see Dorcas and Emily. "I'm sorry about your dad." Dorcas said as she and Emily hugged both boys. "Marlie and Ryan and Alice and Frank are here too, they're just talking to your mum right now."

James just blinked at Dorcas, so Sirius answered, "Thanks for coming." Lily stepped closer to James and took his hand; he looked down at her gratefully.

"Of course." Emily replied. "Hi, Mrs. Evans, Mrs. Evans."

"Hi, girls." Mrs. Evans said. "Michael, let's go see if we can help with anything."

It wasn't long before Mrs. Potter came to tell them all that the service was about to start. James stopped Lily as they were all filing out of the room, "I don't know if I can do this, Lily."

Lily turned around, "Yes, you can, James."

"Lily, I can't. I don't want to say goodbye to him, I can't. He'll really be gone then."

Lily's heart broke for him, "James," she said softly. "You need to say goodbye to your dad. It will help. And you need to be strong, for your mum, for Sirius. They're both grieving too. I know that it hurts. But, James, your dad would want you to be strong, to be brave; if not for yourself, or even for him, but for your family."

James sighed rested his forehead on Lily's a moment, "You're right. I don't know what I did to deserve you, but I thank Merlin everyday for you."

Lily felt her heart summersault in her chest, "I love you, so much." She said grabbing his hand. "Let's go.

Lily and James said in the front row of the lines of chairs that had been set up. She looked Mr. Potter's body resting on a white marble slab as James' hand tightened painfully on hers. When everyone was seated Lily was surprised to see Dumbledore stand up. "Grayson Potter was a good man; a loving father, a devoted husband, a loyal friend. From an early age he chose to stand for what he knew to be right and he stuck firmly to his beliefs. Many of his best qualities live on in his son, especially his love of Quidditch." There was a slight chuckle in the crowd of people. "Everyone who knew Grayson came away better for it, and he will be missed." There was a murmur of agreement as Dumbledore turned and waved his wand. In a bright flash of light Mr. Potter's body was encased in a white tomb.

Next to James Mrs. Potter sobbed quietly and leaned herself into James. Mrs. Potter, James, Sirius and Lily were among the last to go up to say their goodbyes to Mr. Potter. Mrs. Potter stepped up first and ran her hand softly over the white marble that housed her husband. "Goodbye Grayson," she whispered in a choked voice, "we had a good life together, we raised our son, and did good things. I wish you were here to see our son finish growing into the man that you taught him to be, but I know that you'll be looking down on him, on both of us for the rest of our lives. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to do this with out you Gray, I've been with you nearly my whole life, and I barely remember what it's like to be without you." She said as tears fell silently down her cheeks, "I love you darling, and I'm going to miss you." She kissed the tomb lightly and stepped aside so that James could have his turn to sat goodbye.

James stepped up to the tomb, "I can't believe that I'm never going to see you again, dad. I'm sorry that I wasn't always the kind of son that you could be proud of. But, I've changed, and I hope that you know that, and that I did it in part because I wanted you and mum to be proud of me. You taught me to be the kind of man that stands up for what he believes in, who does the right thing because it's right, who can be relied on. I'm not there yet, not all the way, but I've started. I didn't get the chance to tell you, I didn't know that I wouldn't have the time, but wanted you to know, I'm the Head Boy this year. I know how disappointed you were that I wasn't made Prefect, but I'm going to make up for it and be a good Head Boy, like you were. I'm going to do my best to be the kind of person that you wanted me to be, I'm going to make you proud, even if you're not going to be here to see it. I love you dad and I'm going to miss you."

James stepped back, grabbed Lily's hand, and walked to his mother to give Sirius his time to say goodbye. Mrs. Potter hugged James tightly, "I miss him so much, Jimmy."

James kissed her temple, "I know mum; I do too."

"I don't want you to be angry with him, for not telling you about being sick."

"I'm not." Mrs. Potter eyed her son suspiciously. James, who saw the look, sighed and said, "I was. But I understand why you didn't tell me. Besides that's not what is important right now."

His mother sighed in relief. "Good, that's good." She sighed again as Sirius stepped over to them, "You boys are done?" Both James and Sirius nodded their heads, "Okay, okay." She said pressing her lips together as her eyes watered. "I suppose we should go back to the house then. Lily, you and your parents are staying?"

"I have to take my parents home, but I'm going to come back afterwards." Lily replied.

"Do you want me to help?" Sirius asked. "So that way you don't have to make two trips."

"Oh, er, sure." Lily answered surprised.

"James, why don't you and your mum go back up to the house while Lily and I take her parents home."

"Yeah, okay." James said. He kissed Lily softly before turning to walk his mother back to the house.

"Thanks for helping me with my parents."

Sirius shrugged, "Welcome, it's not really a big deal. But I wanted to say something to you."

"I figured as much. Can it wait until we've brought my parents home?"

"Yeah, it can wait."

"Alright then." Lily said. "Mum, dad, Sirius offered to help me get you home, so that way I don't have to make two trips."

"That's sweet of you dear." Mrs. Evans said.

"Sirius, why don't you take my mum, and I'll get my dad."

"Okay." Sirius said turning to Lily's mother. "Mrs. Evans you just need to hold onto my arm."

"Alright, down the rabbit hole we go." Mrs. Evans said.

Sirius looked at her strangely for a minute then he looked to Lily, who smiled slightly, "I'll explain later." She said before Sirius and her mother apparated away.

"Is he related to James?" Mr. Evans asked.

"Sirius?" Lily replied, "No, why?"

"He seems quite close to James' family. I thought that they might be related."

"Sirius used to live with James. He, Sirius, not James, doesn't get on well with his family. So, he is very close to the Potters, he's just not related by blood." Lily answered. "Are you ready to go?"

Mr. Evans took a deep breath, "Yeah, let's get this over with."

With a pop they were standing in Lily's living room. "Lily, are you going back to James' house?" Mrs. Evans asked when she saw them.

"Yeah, for a while anyway."

"Alright, but we don't want you there too long." Mrs. Evans said looking at her husband who was busy checking to make sure all his body parts were there. "Right, Michael?"

"What?" He asked distractedly, "Oh, right, not too late. School starts in a couple in a couple of days and you have to pack and such still."

Lily smiled at the two of them, "I won't be home late." She kissed both of their cheeks, "I'll see you later." She said, grabbed Sirius's arm as he apparated them back. They appeared about a mile away from the Potter's house. "Alright Sirius, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" Lily asked as they began to walk.

"You really care about him, don't you?" Sirius asked.

"Who, my dad; of course I care about my dad."

"No, James."

Lily stopped, looked Sirius dead in the eye, "I'm so in love with him, I can't even begin to describe it."

Sirius smiled slightly, "You don't really have to; you can see it when James walks into a room, the way your face lights up. It's the same for him you know."

"I know, and that's the most amazing part."

"You're dating."

"Yes."

"For how long?"

"A little over four months."

"Since the night with Snape?"

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you guys tell anyone?"

"There were a lot of things going on then. With the house points and you and Remus, and the rumors that were flying around. James didn't want the rumors to ruin it. And James and I agreed that we didn't want to brag or show off how happy we were when Remus was miserable."

"Huh." Was all Sirius could manage. "I said some things both to and about you that I really need to apologize for."

"Sirius you already apologized, you don't need to do it again."

"I said I was sorry for the way I was acting. I was being a pretty big asshole, but I said things, about how James chose you over me, the reasons for it." Sirius started.

"I know." Lily said. "I heard some of them." Sirius looked ashamed and opened his mouth, but Lily cut him off, "Don't worry about it. I probably would have acted the same way if something like that happened with Emily."

"No you wouldn't have." Sirius said. "That's not all I wanted to say to you." When Lily lifted an eyebrow he continued, "You're good for James. He needs you; I don't think I really understood that until now."

"I need him too, he's…" She trailed off trying to find the right words, "He's just the best thing that has ever happened to me."

Sirius smiled as they walked into the house together, "Good, that's what I wanted to hear."

"What's what you wanted to hear?" James asked.

"Nothing. Where's your mum?" Sirius answered.

"She's upstairs sleeping, it's been a long, rough day."

"Tell me about it." Sirius said. "I think I'm going to bunk here tonight, I'm pretty tired myself."

"Yeah, go on up." James said. He watched as Sirius walked up the stairs. "What was that all about?"

"Nothing, James, it's not important." Lily answered.

James shrugged, rubbed his hand roughly over his face, "Today was a shitty day." Lily nodded her head in agreement, "I feel like I'm getting pressed from all sides all of a sudden."

"What do you mean?" Lily asked.

"Well, here, with my dad, obviously." James responded, "But also, I'm worried about leaving my mum here for long periods of time by herself. Then with school, I have to worry about being the captain of the Quidditch team and Head Boy too. I don't know how I'm going to do the Head Boy thing. I mean, bloody hell, I wasn't even a prefect."

"James, your mum is going to be okay. And I can help you with the school stuff if you want. Well, not the Quidditch stuff, because my flying ability not so good, but the rest."

"Thanks. I appreciate that." James said. "I don't even know who the Head Girl is, I wondered about it, but all this stuff with my dad drove it out of my head."

"I am."

"You are what?" James asked. Then a second later, "Oh, Head Girl, of course you are."

"I didn't want to say anything just yet; I didn't think that it was the right time." Lily said.

"Well, I guess that makes things easier then, doesn't it."

"Yeah, I suppose that it does."

"We have to be at the Hogwarts Express early, don't we?" James asked.

"Yeah, like an hour before the train leaves so that we can go over what we want to tell the prefects."

"Do you want to meet there or do you want to go together?"

"I guess we should go together; it'll make it easier." Lily answered.

James took a deep breath, "Okay." He sighed and rubbed his face again, "Merlin, I'm exhausted."

Lily took his hand led him up to his room, "Come on," she said, "let's get you into bed then." They walked quietly up to his room. Lily kissed him softly, "'Night James. I'll see you on Thursday."

"You're not staying?"

"I would if I could, but my parents want me home soon."

"Alright, I'll see you in a couple of days then."

"If you need anything, please come and get me, okay?"

"Okay."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Lily!" Mrs. Evans called up the stairs a few days later. "Lily, you're going to be late if you don't hurry up."

"I just needed to finish packing a few last minute things mum." Lily called back levitating her school things down the stairs. "Besides I'm waiting for James. He's going to come here and we're going to go together."

Mrs. Evans looked confused, "Didn't you say that your letter told you to get to the train station by ten so that you and the Head Boy could discuss things?"

Lily smiled, "James is the Head Boy." Then she frowned, "I hope he's alright. He was worried about leaving his mum home by herself."

"He's a good boy; it has to be hard on his mother to go from a house full of people to an empty one."

Lily would have answered, but there was a pop in the next room, "Er, Lily?"

"In here, James." Lily called, she kissed him quickly, "Did everything go alright with your mum?"

"Yeah. She says that she'll be alright, but I'm still worried about her. It's so soon after dad."

"Your mother is a strong woman, James. I'm sure that she'll be alright." Mrs. Evans said. "If it makes you feel better, Lily left me some of that Floo powder, and explained to her father and I how to use it, so that way we can stay in touch with your mum."

James looked over to Lily for a moment; she just shrugged back at him. "Er, yes, that does make me feel better, to know that she's not going to be alone all the time."

"Well, I suppose that the two of you should go. You don't want to be late your first day on the job."

Lily waved her wand and sent her things off to Kings Cross, "Bye mum, tell daddy that I love you both and that I'll miss you." She said hugging her mother.

"I will. Goodbye Lily, James." Mrs. Evans said hugging them both. "Have a good term."

"We will." Lily answered, then both she and James apparated to Kings Cross. Lily opened her eyes when they appeared at the station, "Wow, this is weird."

James looked at her strangely, "What's strange?"

"There's like five people here. I've never been here when it's this empty."

James looked around, "No, I don't think that I have either."

Lily shook her head, "Sorry, I'm a little out of it today."

"No, don't worry about it. So, what are we supposed to talk with the prefects about? The letter didn't really go into details, just said to go over some of the rules and give out the passwords."

"That's pretty much all we have to do right now. There'll be more stuff for prefect meetings and such later on in the year, but really today we just have to give the prefects the passwords for their common rooms and for the bathroom, and then we just need to go over the rules with the new fifth year prefects, everyone else knows what the rules are."

"Where are the passwords anyway?" James asked stepping on to the train, "I didn't get them in my letter."

"I have them, Dumbledore sent them to me the other day; the letter said that only one of us needed to get them."

"Okay, just as long as we have them."

"Yeah." Lily said. "We have to remind everyone that they have to tell us when they change the passwords or it gets changed on them, so that way we can let Dumbledore know."

"Some people get to pick out their own passwords?" James asked. Lily opened her mouth to answer, "Well, I guess that makes sense. I mean why else would the Slytherin passwords be what they are?"

"How do you know what the Slytherin's passwords have been?" Lily asked.

"Do you remember that map I told you about, the night that with Snape?"

Lily closed her eyes, trying to remember, "Yeah, sorta."

"One of the perks of having it was that it showed us what all the passwords in the castle were."

"Huh. I wonder what happened to it."

"I lost it somewhere after I went after Snape; Filch probably has it hidden in his office. Not that he'll ever be able to figure out how to use it." At Lily's questioning look he continued, "It just shows you a blank piece of parchment unless you pass the password."

"Yeah, I remember you telling me about that now." Lily said. "Oh, speaking of passwords, you and I have to come up with a password for the Head Students' room."

"We get a room? Why didn't I know that?"

"It's used mostly when the Head Students are in different houses, but it does have a bathroom in there. And from what I've heard it makes the Prefects' bathroom look like crap."

"Is that possible?"

"Apparently."

"Wow, it must be something then." James said. "It'll be nice to be able to get away when we want though, and get some privacy."

Lily raised an eyebrow, "Yes, I expect that it will."

They stepped into the Prefect's compartment, "Wow, this is nice too."

Lily smiled, "Yeah, they make it worth your while to become a Prefect or Head Student."

"So I see." James replied, "I really just want to get this meeting over with. I'm exhausted, I really just want to get to school, eat, and get to sleep."

Lily ran her hand over James' cheek, "At least we don't start classes until Monday; that gives us three days before we have to start classes."

"Yeah, I like when it works out like that for us. I hate when September first is a Sunday, 'cause then it means we start classes the next day. But still, I can't wait until we're done with the meeting."

"If you want you can go find where everyone else is sitting and just stay with them, and I'll handle the meeting. No one is going to blame you if you skip this one."

James thought for a moment, "Merlin, that's tempting, it really is. But I think that if I'm going to have any sort of authority over the prefects I'm going to need to be here."

"James, it's only been a week since your dad died. No one is going to think less of you if you skip this meeting."

"I would."

"James." Lily started.

"No, Lily," James interrupted, "I have to prove myself to everyone"

"James, I do too. And no one is going to think that you're a bad Head Boy if you skip this meeting."

"Lily, you don't have to prove yourself in the same way." Lily opened her mouth to protest. "No, listen, I know that you have to prove yourself to some people, because some people are assholes and think that because you're muggle born that it somehow makes you less of a witch or whatever. I get that, I do. But to people who don't have their heads up their asses you don't have to prove anything. You're the smartest, most talented witch in our year, probably in the whole damn school, and everyone knows that. You've always been at the top of our year, never been in huge amounts of trouble, and you were a prefect the last two years. Everyone, if they aren't stupid, expects that you're going to be Head Girl." James said. "But, I can guarantee that no one has even considered the possibility of me being Head Boy. And if I don't show up on the first day, they're never going listen to me."

Lily nodded, "Alright." She said slowly. "Okay, but we'll try to make the meeting quick."

James smiled slightly, "Thanks."

Lily nodded again, "We should change into our school things, people are starting to get here, and we should be out there helping and such."

Lily was surprised to find most of the Prefects waiting the compartment when she and James had finished helping the younger students. In fact the only missing Prefects were the six and seventh year Slytherins. "Well get started as soon as everybody gets here." She said to the waiting Prefects.

"So you're Head Girl then, Lily?" A blonde fifth year Gryffindor asked.

Lily smiled at the girl, "Yeah, I am, Anne."

"What's Potter doing here?" Spit a voice from behind her. Lily turned to see Severus Snape, Morgana Gamp, Regulus Black, and Isolde Rosier standing in the entrance to the compartment.

James turned as well, "I'm the Head Boy, Snape." Lily watched as the four Slytherins' mouths fell open, out of the corner of her eye saw many of the other Prefects had similar reactions.

"No you're not." Isolde said.

James raised his eyebrow, "Really, then why is it that I have this nifty badge that says I am?" He asked.

Snape narrowed his eyes, "I can't believe that Dumbledore made _you_ Head Boy. After _everything_, he still saw it fit to pick _you_. Well I guess now we know that it isn't merit that gets one chosen as a Head Student, it's Dumbledore's favorites that get picked. No matter how unqualified they are for the position."

Both Lily and James narrowed their eyes dangerously. "You're going to want to sit down, all of you." Lily said. When none of them moved she said, "Now. I don't care if you don't like it, but James and I _are_ the Head Students, and you will listen to us, or you will find yourself replaced." There was mumbling amongst the rest of the Prefects now.

"You can't do that." Morgana spit. Then under her breath she muttered, "You stupid mudblood."

Many of the Prefects gasped, Lily sucked in a breath through her nose and pressed her lips together in an attempt for control. "We can and we will." James replied. "Lily and I both have the authority to remove you, any of you," James said looking to all of the Prefects, "from your position. You can feel free to disagree with either or both of us, but you will do it in a respectful manner. And the very next time someone uses _that_ word in reference to a muggle born that person will not only find themselves no longer a Prefect, but also find themselves with detention and loss of house points."

The Slytherins glared at them hatefully, but Lily felt sure that the little mutiny seemed to be under control. "Now, as we have that settled," she said looking directly at the Slytherins, "I suppose we can continue. James and I have the passwords to all of the house common rooms," she passed out four pieces of parchment, "don't worry about people from other houses seeing it, only people in your house can read them."

"Now," James said, "if for whatever reason your password changes, you are to tell either Lily or myself in a timely manner, that means within two days." James said when several mouths opened.

"How come you guys need our passwords?" A fifth year Ravenclaw boy asked.

"Quinton, right?" Lily asked.

"Quint." He replied.

"It's only so that we can give them to Dumbledore." Lily answered. "He wants the passwords and it's easier for you guys to tell us and for us to tell Dumbledore because we're the ones who have meetings with him."

"Oh, okay." He replied.

"Anyway, the Prefects' bathroom is on the fifth floor, four doors to the left of the statue of Boris of the Bewildered. The password is 'Pine Fresh.' The only people who are allowed in there are of course the Prefects, the Head Students, and the Quidditch captains. If we find out that you're bringing your friends into the bathroom we're going to have to ban you from it. Since we don't want to have to do that, just don't do it, it makes things easier. Alright, that's it for all the sixth and seventh years, you guys know what the rules are. We're going to have a meeting tomorrow at three to go over schedules for patrols and such. For now, you guys just need to patrol the train, make sure that no one is breaking rules or anything. See you guys tomorrow."

There were a couple of "Byes." As the Prefects filed out the door.

"Okay," James said, "we'll try to make this as quick and painless as possible. There were a couple of quiet chuckles. "We just need to go over the rules, if you have any questions or anything, just wait 'till the end and we'll answer anything that we need to get to."

Lily nodded, "Right, so first I want to go over points; you are allowed to take points from other students when you see them breaking the rules. If you think that you need to take points from another Prefect you need to get the approval of either James, myself, or one of the professors. And while you guys can't take points from us, we are allowed to take points from any of you. You need to keep a list of all the points that you take and what you've taken them for, and at the end of each week you all have to give James and I the list."

"You guys can also hand out detentions as punishment. And after you give a detention you need to find either Lily or me and let us know so that way we can set up the detentions with the teachers." James said. "Oh, and tonight after the end of the feast you guys are responsible for bringing the first years to your common rooms."

"You all got rules in the mail, right?" Lily asked. They all nodded, "Okay, good, now we're not going to ask you to memorize the rules or anything, but do go over them. If you guys are unsure about any rules, come to us or one of the older Prefects and ask." Lily took a deep breath, "I think that's it for now, any questions."

"How do we know how many points to take off?"

James looked over to Lily, "Well, it depends on what rule was broken, if it's someone out of bed after curfew you don't want to take off fifty points. Along the same vein if someone does something violent, of course you're going to want take off a lot of points."

"So try to keep it proportional?"

"Yeah."

"Is there a limit on the amount of points we can take off, or on the amount of detentions we can give?"

"You can take up to fifty points or give up to a weeks worth of detention." James replied.

"What if something happens and we need to take off more points or give more detentions?"

"You can either come to us or that student's Head of House to get permission."

"Why do we have to give you a list of the amount of points we take off?"

"One, so that we know what points are being taken off for, so that we can address certain behaviors if they're getting out of control. And two," James said with raised eyebrows, "so we know that you guys aren't abusing the point system."

There was a moment of silence, "Any other questions?" Lily asked. The Prefects shook their heads. "Okay, then. There is a room on the fourth floor that we use for Prefects meetings; so we'll see everyone there tomorrow at three. You can stay up here if you want or you can go back to sit with your friends, just as long as you patrol the train at least twice on the way to school."

"Oh, and before we forget, make sure you go in pairs, no one is to patrol alone. That goes for the train and for when we get back to school." James said to the Prefects as they passed by.

"At least that's over." Lily said when they were alone.

"Tell me about it. I thought we were going to have a full fledged revolt on our hands; damn Slytherins."

Lily smiled, "James." She said reproachfully. "Not all of the Slytherins are bad people."

"I didn't say all of them were, but those ones are. You're not going to tell me that you have warm and fuzzy feelings about Snape, Gamp, Rosier, or Black, are you."

Lily sighed, walked out of the compartment, "No, I can't tell you that. I just wish that not all of them were such fuckwits?"

James let out a bark of laughter as they walked into the compartment that all their friends were in, "Fuckwits?" James said as everyone in the room looked at them questioningly, "God, Lily, I love you." He said as he bent down to kiss her; neither of them noticed the raised eyebrows of their friends.

Everyone watched as Lily smiled into the kiss, "I love you too."

"So, I suppose that answers that question; doesn't it?" Gideon said.

"What question?" James asked as he and Lily sat on the floor of the compartment.

"The 'will they finally go out this year?' question." Gideon replied. "It only took seven years."

Lily rolled her eyes, but otherwise ignored him.

"Merlin," Marlie said shifting around on the bench, "I wish these damn compartments were bigger. There's never enough room when we're all in here."

Both James and Lily looked up at her, "You're seriously complaining that you don't have any room?"

Marlie shrugged, "You guys were here last, and that means you have to sit on the floor; you know how it goes."

"Oh, blow me." Lily muttered.

James sighed leaned his head back against the wall, threw his arm over Lily's shoulder, "As hard as it was to leave mum at home, it's good to be around you guys again."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Just so you know, with school and everything starting I'll probably be able to update every two weeks or so. Enjoy and let me know what you think. :-D


	15. Chapter 14

_The greatest healing therapy is friendship and love.__-__Hubert H. Humphrey_

_If pleasures are greatest in anticipation, just remember that this is also true of trouble. - __Elbert Hubbard

* * *

_

**Chapter Fourteen**

Lily heard Emily sigh as the train came to a stop, "What's the matter?" She asked.

"I can't believe that this is going to be our last year here. This is our last train ride to school. It's weird."

Lily looked out the window at Hogsmead, "Yeah, it is."

"Hey, Lily, James," Remus said, "the train's stopped. We've got to go and help out with everyone."

"Oh, James, before I forget again, we still need to come with a password for our room." Lily said as they walked outside.

James took a deep breath as he stepped off the train, "Why don't we head over there after the feast."

"Okay." Lily replied turning to help a blonde first year off the train.

"Don't I have to get my stuff?" The little girl asked looking up at Lily.

"Nope, you don't have to worry about it; it'll be up in your room when you get up there. All you have to do is follow that man over there." Lily said pointing to Hagrid, who waved at both Lily and James.

Lily grinned and waved back, "You know him?" The little girl asked with wide eyes.

"Sure, that's Hagrid." Lily said. "Don't worry, he may be a bit big, but he's as harmless as they come."

"Er, alright." The girl said. "Thanks for helping me."

"You're welcome." Lily said smiling as she remembered seeing Hagrid for the first time herself.

"You just take those carriages over there." James said pointing the carriages out to a group of second years. Then over their heads, "It's going to be cold this year." He said to Lily.

Lily raised an eyebrow, "And how do you know that?" She said walking over to him.

"It already smells like fall." Lily opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by one of the second years James had been helping.

"What _are_ those things?" One of the boys asked standing on his toes. "I'm not getting in the carriages if those things are pulling them."

The other kids looked at him strangely, "Did you hit your head then?" Asked one of his friends, "There's nothing there, my sister says they're pulled by invisible horses."

"Those things aren't horses. They're bloody odd looking."

"They're called thestrals." Lily said.

"Why can't we see them then?" One of the others asked.

James and Lily looked at each other unsure how to answer, "Because only certain people can see them." James answered.

"What kind of people."

"You'll find out if you take Care of Magical Creatures when you're older." Lily replied. "Now, hurry up or you'll miss all the carriages and end up having to walk to Hogwarts."

The kids looked at each other, then up at Lily, before they took off running to the carriages. "That seems to be everyone." James said looking around. "I guess we should catch the last carriage there so that_ we_ don't have to walk up to school."

"Mm." Lily replied distractedly.

"What's the matter?" James asked.

"What? Oh, nothing. I thought that I saw someone over there." She said gesturing to one of the many buildings in the town.

"I don't see anything." James said squinting.

Lily shrugged and climbed into the carriage. "Must have been a shadow." She said.

Lily was quietly looking out the window, her head on James' shoulder when he broke the silence, "Can you see them?" He asked suddenly. "Thestrals?" He added when Lily looked confused.

"No." Lily answered. "Can you?"

"No." James replied.

"Something to be grateful for then." Lily said.

"Yeah. It seems like there's less and less to be grateful for every year."

Lily looked over at James, brushed he hand over his cheek, "No matter how much we lose or how much is taken from us, there is always something to be grateful for."

James put his hand over Lily's to keep it in place and turned his head to kiss the inside of her wrist. "Thanks. I've been in need of some optimism lately."

Lily smiled at him, "If anyone deserves to be depressed, you do, James."

James took a deep breath as the carriage came to a stop. "I suppose." He said with a shrug. Lily lifted her eyebrow and giggled at a loud grumbling noise. James looked sheepishly over to her, "I guess I'm a bit hungry."

"I'd say so." Lily said smiling. "Come on, then, we don't want to miss anything."

They walked hand in hand up to the castle, but stopped short when they found the whole school standing around in the Entrance Hall. "Sirius is over there, maybe he knows what's going on." Lily said pointing to her left.

They maneuvered through people until they reached Sirius, "Oi, Padfoot, what's going on?" James asked.

Sirius turned, "Dunno, all of the teachers seemed pretty pissed and went running into the Great Hall."

James' brows furrowed, "Weird."

"I'll say. I mean isn't it bad enough that we've got to wait for the first years to be sorted before we get to eat, but now we've got to wait even longer." Dorcas said putting a hand to her stomach.

"Way to be sentimental." Alice laughed, "Besides didn't you buy half the food on the cart from the candy witch?"

Dorcas shrugged, "Candy doesn't count as food." Then after a minute, "Besides the boys ate most of it."

Gideon raised his eyebrows, "Is that so?"

"Yes, it is." Dorcas said haughtily.

"Who was it that ate six Pumpkin Pasties then?" He asked.

Dorcas grinned as Marlie said, "Don't forget the five Cauldron Cakes she ate too."

Dorcas shrugged again, "I've a fast metabolism."

"You must." Remus replied. "I don't think even _I_ ate that much."

Dorcas looked over at him darkly, "Thanks."

"Way to put your foot in your mouth on that one, mate." Peter said.

James smiled at his friends, _yes_, he thought, _it was good to be around his friends again_. Just then a sudden terrible cold passed through him and forced him to shiver violently. "Oi, Nick!" He said, "What was that for?"

"Oh, James, sorry I didn't see you there."

Lily looked up at Nick, "Are you alright, you seem a bit distracted."

"Peeves." Nick muttered. "We, the other Hogwarts Ghosts and I, decided to give Peeves another chance and allow him to attend the Welcoming Feast, but as it turns out that was a big mistake."

"Big surprise." Sirius muttered.

"Hm?" Nick said as Emily laughed at him.

"Oh, er, what happened?" Sirius asked.

"He's flooded the Great Hall. Dumbledore asked the Bloody Barron to take care of it."

"Well, I guess that explains why we're not allowed in yet." Lily said.

Nick turned to her, then noticed the Head Girls badge winking on her robes, "You're the Head Girl then?" He asked.

"What? Oh, yeah, James is Head Boy." Lily answered.

"Really?" Nick said looking speculatively at Lily and James. "Well, that's brilliant then isn't it? Both Head Students coming from Gryffindor. I'm off to find the Grey Lady and Fat Friar, they were both sure that the Head Students were going to be from their houses."

Sirius laughed slightly as Nick floated away, "I love that even our House Ghost doesn't really believe that the two of you are the Heads."

"Yeah, Sirius," James said dryly, "that's bloody hysterical."

"Just because nobody really expected it doesn't mean that you're not going to be a good Head Boy, James." Alice said.

He looked over to her, "Thanks."

She patted his shoulder, "You're welcome."

"Hey, look!" Peter said pointing, "The teachers are opening the doors."

"About damn time." Dorcas muttered. "Bloody Peeves."

* * *

By the time the feast was over Lily thought she could fall asleep right there at the table without any trouble at all. Yawning she looked over and nodded to the two fifth year Gryffindor prefects to signal them to bring the first years up to the common room.

"So, you guys ready to head up?" Emily asked. "I'm exhausted; I can't wait to fall into bed. And I love that we've got three full days before school starts."

"Why, didn't you finish you're Transfiguration homework again?" Dorcas asked.

"Of course I did." Emily muttered. "Mostly."

"Emily." Lily said looking exasperated.

"What? Lily you don't ever leave homework until the last minute." Emily said. "Oh, wait I forgot who I was talking to there a moment." She said grinning. Then as everyone laughed, she shrugged, "I'll get something done by the time we've got Transfiguration."

"What if we've got Transfiguration first thing Monday morning?" Alice asked.

Emily glared at her, "Bite your tongue. I'll get it done by then. Anyway, you guys coming?"

"Lily and I've got to make a stop, but we'll be up soon." James said standing and taking Lily's hand.

Gideon raised his eyebrows, "You've got to make a stop; is that code for you two are going to find an empty classroom to go shag in?" He asked. "Ouch!" He said when Dorcas hit him on the back of the head. "What was that for?"

"You're such a guy." She replied.

He looked at her strangely for a moment, "Yes, I can see how that would be bothersome."

Lily laughed, "Sorry to disappoint your prurient fantasies, but James and I just have to go set the password for the Head Students room."

"You guys get a room?" Peter asked as they all walked out of the Great Hall.

"Yeah, with its own bathroom and everything." Lily said looking evilly at her friends.

"You get _another_ private bathroom?" Alice said wide eyed. "How's that fair. You're going to tell us that password for it or the Prefects one, aren't you?"

Lily grinned as she and James stopped on the third floor, "Nope." She said as they walked down the corridor.

"That was mean." James said.

"Yeah," Lily said looking up at him, "but it was also fun."

James smiled and shook his head at her, "Who knew Lily Evans had a sadistic side." He said grabbing her chin and placing a smacking kiss on her lips. "And, also, the Heads' room isn't on the third floor, it's on the fifth."

"I know, but I don't want them checking all the doors on the floor, and figuring out which one it is. We'll have them banging on the door trying to get us to let them in then."

"You know I didn't even think of that, you're right too, they would."

Lily rolled her eyes, "I know, they're such babies." They walked slowly up to the fifth floor, passed the Prefect's bathroom and the statue of Boris the Bewildered, hand in hand. "So, what do you think we should make the password?"

James' brow furrowed, "What's your favorite candy?"

"My favorite candy?" Lily asked confused.

"Yeah, I thought we could take a page out of Dumbledore's book and make the passwords after our favorite candies."

Lily shrugged, "Alright, chocoballs then."

"Chocoballs it is." James said, "So, where is this room of ours?"

Lily pulled a letter out of her robes, "It says that we're supposed to go to the end of the corridor and turn right." They walked to the end of the corridor only to find themselves facing an empty bit of wall.

"Er, maybe it's like the Room of Requirement?" James said.

"Perhaps." Lily said looking doubtful. They walked passed the section of wall three times, but it didn't change. "Or not." She said.

"Perhaps it's a door that looks like a bit of wall." James suggested.

Lily narrowed her eyes, "I hate those and the doors that don't really go anywhere. I'd never seen anything like it when we first got here and it confused the hell out of me."

James smiled at her and patted her head, "There, there. I'm sure it's alright."

Lily rolled her eyes at him, "I'm not a puppy you know."

"No," He replied, "no, you're certainly not. Shall we try my door idea then?"

"Have at it." Lily said motioning to the door.

James felt around the bit of wall pushing in certain places, "It feels solid, does it say last years password, maybe we need it to get in."

Lily looked down at the parchment in her hand, "Er, moonshine."

"Moonshine, seriously?"

Lily shrugged, "You remember last years Head Girl don't you?"

James shook his head, "Not particularly, I just remember that you didn't like her much." James put his hands against the wall again, "Moonshine." He said pushing. "Nothing." he muttered slightly frustrated. "Are there anymore instructions?" He asked.

Lily looked down again, "No, just 'Walk down to the end of the corridor on the fifth floor and turn right. The password is Moonshine.'"

James leaned his back up against the wall, "Well I'm out of ideas, I don't know how we're going to get in without more instructions. We'll go to Dumbledore's office tomorrow and have him tell us. We have that password don't we?"

"Yeah, I've got it in my trunk somewhere, with the rest of the papers that Dumbledore sent." She said linking her hands behind James' neck.

James bent his head down to Lily's throat to place butterfly kisses down her neck. Lily swayed into James and in doing so her arms bumped against the wall. The moment that her hands touched the wall she and James were falling through it. "Oomph."

"Are you alright?" Lily asked from her position on top of James.

"Yeah." James said slowly, "The ground is kind of squishy."

"Squishy?" Lily asked poking it with her finger. She made a face halfway between confused and disgusted, "That's, er, ew."

James chuckled, "You should see your face." He said when Lily raised an eyebrow.

"Glad to be of service." She responded dryly.

James smiled as they untangled themselves and got to their feet. "I for one am quite happy that the ground is squishy, that would have bloody well hurt." He looked around the dimly lit corridor. "Huh, I never knew this was here, and I could have sworn I knew more about Hogwarts than most."

Lily shrugged, "I don't think that you would have been able to find it, even if you did know it was here." James raised an eyebrow. "I think that both the Head Girl and Head Boy have to be touching the wall to be let in here."

He nodded his head in agreement, "Then why do you suppose we need a password if the both of us have to touch the wall to get in."

Lily pursed her lips, "Well, you've got me there." She responded as they walked down the corridor.

They walked about a kilometer when they came to a painting of four people; two men and two women. The first man was tall with shoulder length brown hair, brown eyes and a squared jaw; the second man was tall as well, though he had sallow skin black eyes, hair, and a beard to match. The first woman had auburn hair, brown eyes, and soft features; the second was thin, with pointed features, dark brown hair, and sharp, brown eyes.

"Well, what have we here?" The first man asked.

"You'd be this years Head Boy and Girl?" The second woman asked.

James and Lily looked at one another, "Yes." James answered.

"You're the founders of Hogwarts aren't you?" Lily asked suddenly.

The second woman beamed, "That we are. I'm Rowena Ravenclaw, this," she said pointing to the other woman, "is Helga Hufflepuff, this," she pointed to the brown haired man, "is Godric Gryffindor, and this," she said pointing to the last man, "is Salazar Slytherin."

James looked at Lily with wide eyes, "How did you know that?"

Lily shrugged, "Books." Ravenclaw grinned again.

"And your names?" Slytherin asked.

"Oh, er, right, sorry." James said. "I'm James Potter and this is Lily Evans."

"Potter, Potter, we've had a number of Potter Head Boys." Gryffindor said, then inclined his head, "Head Girls as well. Good man, carrying on a family tradition. Evans," He said. "I don't think we've had an Evans here before; have we?" He said looking at the others in the painting. They all shook their heads.

"Well, er, you wouldn't have. I'm muggle-born."

"Muggle-born?" Slytherin spat, causing the others to give him dirty looks.

Lily narrowed her eyes, squared her shoulders, and raised her chin, "That's right." She said coolly. "Muggle-born."

Gryffindor laughed soundly, "That a girl. You're a Gryffindor aren't you?"

Lily glared at Slytherin a moment longer, "Yes, I am. So's James." She responded patting James on the chest.

"Ho ho. Two Gryffindor Head Students? I do love it when that happens."

Lily and James smiled at him. "Would you be _the_ James Potter we've so often heard about the last few years?" Hufflepuff asked.

James looked sheepishly up at her, "Probably."

Slytherin made a tsking sound, but Gryffindor grinned again, "Good man, it's good to have a sense of humor."

"Now, what is it you'd like your password to be this year?" Hufflepuff asked.

"We were wondering what we needed a password for; since the wall needs both of us to open it." James asked.

"The wall only needs both Head Students to open it the first time, after that either of you can open it. The password is just a precaution in case anyone else gets inside the corridor." Ravenclaw answered.

"Oh, and do be careful." Hufflepuff added, "The floor won't be soft the next time you come through the door, it's charmed so that it becomes soft at the beginning of each school year. After the first time it is opened every year it becomes solid again."

"That's handy." James muttered. "I'd be quite sore if it stayed solid."

"Fell through, did you?" Gryffindor asked. Lily and James nodded, "That's alright, it happens almost every year."

"Huh." James replied.

"The password?" Slytherin asked sharply.

"Don't mind him dears," Hufflepuff said rolling her eyes, "he's a rather sour man."

"Now, now, Helga." Gryffindor admonished, she shrugged at him in response.

"Er, we'd like the password to be Chocoballs." James said.

"Chocoballs it is then." Ravenclaw replied. "Have a look around." She said as the painting opened.

"Thanks." Lily said. She took one step inside and stopped short, "Whoa."

James' eyebrows shot up, "Yeah, that about covers it."

The room was about half the size of the Gryffindor common room, though there was more than enough room for two people. The walls were a golden yellow and the floor was a honey colored wood. There were two worn brown leather couches on either side of a coffee table, and a number of squishy looking chairs in scarlet, green, royal blue, and yellow scattered around the room.

The wall behind them had shelves of books on either side of the door; the wall to their right was covered in shelves of books as well. "It doesn't look like we're ever going to have to go to the library again." James said.

"No, it doesn't, does it?" Lily replied looking around with huge eyes.

On the wall across from them there was an enormous fireplace with the Hogwarts crest above it; on one side of the crest were the words, "Scientia Supremus Panton," on the other was the word "Iunctum."

"Do you know what that says?" Lily asked.

"The word on the right says 'unity,' on the left says 'knowledge above everything." James replied.

"Huh, fitting, I suppose." She looked to the wall on their left it had a single door with two large plaques on either side of it. "What's that?"

They walked over to it, "Wow, it's a list of all the Head Girls and Head Boys since Hogwarts started." James answered. "There's my dad." He looked up the list of names, "Bloody hell, there's my grandfather, and about seven cousins and uncles and such."

"There's a couple of Potters over here as well. You come from a smart family don't you?" Lily said. James looked sadly over at her "They'd all be proud of you." He squeezed her hand in return. "Hey, look, McGonagall was Head Girl her seventh year here. Do you see any of the professors?" She said.

James adjusted his glasses, "Er, there's Flitwick, and, let's see, I don't see anyone else, oh wait, there's Dumbledore."

Lily looked over, "Wow, that goes back a ways there's about a hundred names between his name and yours."

James shrugged, "Dumbledore's old; he was a professor here when my parents were in Hogwarts. Though he was new then."

"I know that Dumbledore's old; I just didn't realize he was over a hundred." Lily shook her head, "Anyway, that door must go to the bathroom, let's go see."

If James and Lily were surprised by the Heads Room it was nothing compared to the bathroom. "Holy mother of God." Lily muttered.

The bathroom was as big as the Prefect's bathroom, but done completely in white marble. The sunken tub, which took up about three quarters of the room, was a replica of the one in the Prefect's bathroom, though it had over two hundred taps. There was a separate shower that was partitioned off from the rest of the room by a glass wall. "I can't wait to go back and tell everyone about this place." James said softly.

Lily grinned, "They are going to be so jealous."

* * *

Lily was woken up the next morning by being violently shaken by Emily. "Go 'way." She muttered pulling the covers over her head.

"Lily." Dorcas whined as Emily pulled the covers back down.

"Why don't you guys ever let me sleep?" Lily moaned. "I have firm policy about getting out of bed before ten on a day when we don't have classes. And today my friends, we have no class."

"Lily," Dorcas whined again, "Alice is in the shower."

"And I care because?" Lily yawned.

"Lil, come on, you have the passwords to not just one, but two _private_ bathrooms." Emily said.

"Seriously?" Lily asked. When she got two blank stares she continued, "That's seriously why you woke me up at eight forty two when there's no class?" She asked looking at the clock.

Emily and Dorcas looked at each other, "Er, yes."

"That's it." Lily muttered darkly and rolling to her stomach so she could reach to her bedside table. "Where's my wand?" Lily asked with narrowed eyes.

Emily and Dorcas looked nervously at one another, "We hid it."

"You hid it? My wand? Why would you do that?"

"So you wouldn't do anything rash. Lily if you just told us one of the passwords we'd never bother you again." Dorcas said quickly.

"Last time you two woke me up I didn't need a wand to have you running from the tower." Lily said completely ignoring Dorcas' request for the passwords.

"Er, that was Christmas, last time I woke you up was on your birthday."

Lily's eyes narrowed, "That's right, I forgot about that. I never got you back for that did I?"

"Run." Emily whispered to Dorcas.

"Don't be ridiculous. I don't need to, holy god!" Dorcas said as she took off running when Lily slowly got out of bed.

"Lily?" Emily asked backing up. "Lil, what are you doing?"

"Em, where's my wand?"

"Er, I've got it."

"Give it back." Lily said holding out a hand. When Emily just stared nervously at her she rolled her eyes, "I promise I won't do anything to you."

Emily looked at her suspiciously, "Swear to God?"

"Em?

"Swear."

"Fine, I swear to God that I won't do anything to you."

"Alright." Emily said slowly pulling Lily's wand from her back pocket. "Here you go. Where are you going?" She asked as Lily stalked out of the room.

"Lily, come back here!" She called running after her.

"Hey, guys, I'm done one of you can have…" Alice said, trailing off at the sight of the now empty room. "Gits, I told them not to wake her up." She said shaking her head.

"Lily you're not really going to do anything to Dorcas, are you?" Emily asked as she fallowed Lily into the common room and up the boy's stairs. When Lily didn't answer Emily tried again, "Lily?"

Lily stalked down the corridor and walked straight into the room that had the gold 'Seventh Years' plaque next to it. "Bloody hell, woman!" Sirius shouted, zipping his pants, when Lily walked in. "Women." He amended when he saw Emily. "I'm changing. Do I come barging into your room when you're changing?"

"You can't get to our room." Emily reminded him.

"That's besides the p…" He trailed off. He and Emily watched with raised eyebrows as Lily pulled back the curtains to James' bed and crawled in. "Why do I get the feeling that Lily's been in his bed before?"

Emily giggled, "I really don't want to think about it. I just wanted to make sure she didn't turn Dorcas into a squirrel or something."

"Why would Lily turn Dorcas into a squirrel?"

Emily smiled, "We woke her up, and she had already promised me that she wouldn't do anything to me."

"What for?"

"Why'd we wake her up?" Emily asked. When Sirius nodded she answered, "We wanted the password to either the Prefect's bathroom or the Head Student's one. But it was a no go."

"That's sad."

"Tell me about it. Listen, I'm going to head back to my room now, if I'm lucky I'll get back before Dorcas does and then I'll be able to get in the shower."

Sirius laughed, "Good luck with that, I'll see you down at breakfast."

"Hey, what's this?" James said when Lily climbed into the bed.

"Dorcas and Emily woke me up, so I came here." Lily answered snuggling her back to James' chest.

"I'd think that they would know better than to wake you up. Why'd they do it?" James asked putting his arm around her waist.

"You would, wouldn't you? We've only lived together for the best part of six years." Lily muttered. "They wanted bathroom passwords."

James laughed and nuzzled Lily's neck, "And did you give in and give it to them?" He asked.

Lily sucked in a breath as James' hand worked its way up her body, "Of course not, I'm not a password slut."

He laughed against her neck, shifted so that she was under him, "Password slut. Merlin, I love you."

Lily pulled James' head down to hers, "I love you too." She said before kissing him. Lily rolled them so that she was lying on top of James and pulled her shirt over her head.

James' eyes all but crossed when Lily's hand snuck under the waistband of his pants and found him. "Merlin, you've brilliant hands." He breathed.

* * *

"Alright everyone, I think that about covers everything." James said looking to the group of Prefects sitting around him. "Any questions?" All the Prefects shook their heads. "Okay, the next meeting will be on October first at three. We'll go over the patrolling schedule again, so that way we can adjust it for Quidditch and other clubs. If there are any problems before then, come us and we'll try to work it out. See you guys later."

"You guys want me to wait for you?" Remus asked on his way out.

"No, that's alright, we've got to organize things now." James answered.

Remus looked at the jumble of papers on the table in front of them, "Have fun with that."

"Thanks, I'm sure we will." James said dryly.

"Price of being Head Boy, Prongs." Remus said ducking the books both Lily and James threw at him.

"Merlin." Lily said when she and James were alone. "Coming to these things when I was a prefect was brutal, but I think running them is even worse."

"How are we going to sort these things?" James asked. "We've got a meeting with Dumbledore tomorrow, so we can't even put it off."

Lily shook her head and rubbed at her eyes, "Let me think, I'm pretty sure I read a good organization charm last year." She waved her wand at the papers, which flew at once into four neatly stacked piles. "Wicked." Lily said. "That cut out about half hour of work. Now all we have to do is pick out the Hogsmead dates for this year and we can go down to dinner."

"We've only got four dates, right?"

"Yeah." Lily said pulling out a calendar that had all the months from September to June on one page.

James looked down, "Let's have the first one be on October twenty ninth."

Lily raised her eyebrows, "You just want it to be for your birthday."

James grinned, "Damn right."

Lily chuckled, "Okay, October twenty ninth it is. We're also going to want one at the end of the year, after tests, but before we go home, so how about June seventeenth."

"Alright, two more." James closed his eyes circled his finger over the page then dropped his finger randomly. "February fourth."

"James." Lily laughed.

"What? Can you think of a better way to do it?"

Lily opened her mouth, then closed it, "You've got me there." She repeated the same process as James, "April first. Everyone's going to think that we're kidding."

James shrugged, "Less people in Hogsmead then."

"You know we are supposed to take this seriously."

"Who says we're not. We're just expediting the process of picking days to go to Hogsmead."

Lily shook her head as she and James gathered everything up, "Alright, let's bring our stuff back up our rooms then head down to diner, I'm pretty hungry."

"Instead of diner I've an idea, actually." James said as they walked up the stairs.

"Oh, yeah, and what's that?" Lily asked.

"It's a surprise." James replied. "Knotgrass." He said to the Fat Lady.

"James, I'm hungry. Can't we do it after?"

He laughed again, "Don't worry, you'll get diner, just not in the Great Hall."

"Are we going to the kitchens then?" Lily asked standing on the bottom step of the girl's staircase.

"I guess you'll just have to wait and see." Lily opened her mouth, "The more questions you ask the longer you're going to have to wait, Love."

Lily closed her mouth and pouted a moment before turning to go up the stairs. She walked into her room to find everyone else was already down at diner. She placed everything in her trunk so that it wouldn't be scattered around by anything, or anyone, and ran back down the stairs. "Why can't you tell me where we're going?"

"Because that would ruin the surprise."

"James, you know how impatient I am."

"Yes, I know, that's part of the fun." James said, "And, also, the reason I didn't tell you earlier."

"Come on." Lily said heading in the direction to the kitchens.

"No, and that's the wrong way, Lil."

"If you just told me where we were going I wouldn't be going in the wrong direction, now would I?" Lily muttered.

"Well, you've got me there." James agreed. "I've an idea that can fix that." Lily looked hopefully up at him, "No, I'm still not going to tell you." He replied kissing her quickly.

"Damn." She muttered as he stepped behind her, with his hands on her hips.

"Close your eyes." James said as the reached the Entrance Hall. Lily looked over her shoulder at him with both eyebrows raised. "Seriously, close them, or no surprise."

"You know, you're a mean boyfriend." Lily pouted, but she closed her eyes.

James smiled, "Yes, Love, I know." James led Lily through the Hall and out the doors.

"Are we outside?" Lily asked.

"Stop asking questions, you'll find out the answer soon enough." James answered shaking his head. Lily was silent a few minutes as they walked across the grounds before she started getting antsy again, "Lily."

"I know, I know. No questions." Lily muttered.

James smiled as he came to a stop, "Alright, you can open your eyes now."

"Finally." She muttered. She opened her eyes to see a picnic blanket and basket sitting under the beech tree next to the lake. "You planned a picnic?" She asked.

"Yeah."

"That's very sweet, thank you." Lily replied, standing on her toes to kiss James.

"Not such a mean boyfriend now; am I?" James asked.

Lily smiled at him, "No, you're the best, most thoughtful, sweetest, smartest, coolest, most amazing boyfriend ever."

"You forgot best looking." James added.

"No I didn't." Lily answered.

James raised his eyebrow, "That hurts, Lily, it really does."

"Oh, alright." Lily said rolling her eyebrows dramatically, "You're the best looking boyfriend, ever, as well."

"There we go." James said, "Now we can eat."

"You know," Lily said, "I've never eaten Sheppard's Pie and Pumpkin Juice on a picnic before."

"You've never been on a picnic with James Potter before."

* * *

"Alright, everyone, we've finally worked out the schedule for patrolling rounds." Lily tapped her wand on a piece of paper to make copies and handed out the copies to all the waiting Prefects. "Our next meeting is going to be on November fifth at three." the Prefects all shuffled out.

"See you at dinner, Prongs." Remus said. "Lily, you want me to wait for you?"

"Yeah, sure, just let me grab these things." Lily said picking up four piles of papers. "I think that we need to find a better way of keeping track of house points." She said to James.

He shook his head, "Tell me about it." He bent down to kiss Lily lightly, "I'll see you after practice then."

"I can't believe you scheduled a practice between the Prefect's meeting and dinner."

"Ravenclaw had the pitch earlier today and our first match is in three weeks."

"I know that, but still, couldn't you have scheduled the practice for tomorrow?"

"I did." Lily looked at him incredulously. "It's my last year; I want to keep that Quidditch cup."

Remus shook his head, "It's no use trying to reason with him about Quidditch, Lily."

Lily opened her mouth, shook her head, closed it again. "No, I don't suppose there is. I'll see you after practice then. And you better not tell me you're too tired to go over these points; I'm not doing that on my own."

James grinned, kissed Lily goodbye again, "Damn, you caught me."

Lily rolled her eyes, "Come on Remus, let's go. How are you feeling?" She asked. Remus looked at her curiously, but didn't answer. "The full moon was a couple of days ago, wasn't it?" She whispered.

"Oh, yeah, I mostly feel awful right before, and a day sometimes two after. And transforming isn't as bad as it used to before, when…" he trailed off, "er, when I was younger."

Lily glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, "I know about James."

Remus stopped, "You do?"

Lily nodded, "He told me the night I found out about you."

She watched Remus' lips tighten, "Oh."

"Remus," she said reproachfully. "Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"What you're doing now. He told me because I was worried about him and he didn't want me to be."

"You should have told someone."

"What, that James is an animagus. No, I don't think that would go over too well. You shouldn't feel guilty that your friends care about you, you know. That's what friends are supposed to do."

"It's illegal, Lily. You're telling me that if it was one of your roommates you would break nearly every Hogwarts rule known to man, not to mention the law."

Lily shrugged, "I don't know that I would have thought of it, to be honest. But I'm not going to go running to a professor because you're friends wanted to keep you from going at yourself every month."

"Lily! Remus!" Called a voice from behind them. "We've been looking all over for you two."

They turned to see Emily jogging up to them and Sirius trailing far behind. "What's up?" Lily asked, noticing the steely glare in Remus' eye.

Emily seemed to have noticed it too, "Er, we were thinking about having a surprise party for James' birthday and wanted to know if the two of you wanted to be in on it."

"Yeah, I'm all for it." Lily replied immediately.

Remus nodded, "Just let me know when you need me, Em." He said, then turned on his heel and walked away.

"Well, that wasn't awkward at all." Sirius muttered, "Listen, I'll see you two down at dinner."

"Okay, then." Emily murmured as he walked away. "I don't know what Sirius did, but he really must have fucked up, Remus hasn't talked to him in six months."

"Oh, he did." Lily replied, "So, what's this about a party?"

"Right," Emily said. "Sirius and I were talking and thought it would be a good idea, I mean his birthday's on Halloween so it's always a good time for a party, this just gives us an extra excuse."

Lily narrowed her eyes a bit, "You and Sirius have been spending an awful lot of time together." Lily said throwing all her stuff down on her bed.

"Shut it." Emily muttered. "We were talking about _your_ boyfriend."

"As opposed to yours?" Dorcas interrupted from the doorway.

Emily glared at her, "He's not my boyfriend."

Dorcas laughed, "You know, you sound just like Lily, before she and James got together."

"I do not. Because Sirius and I aren't shagging, or snogging, or even dating. Lily was doing all three."

"Hey!" Lily called.

"You and Sirius are shagging?" Alice asked.

"What, no. Where did you even come from?" Emily asked looking at her and Marlie. "I said that we weren't."

They started down to dinner together, "You know you have been spending a lot of time with him this year." Marlie teased.

"See." Lily said pointing at Emily.

Emily pouted, "I hate you all; did you know that?"

Lily giggled then whispered to Alice, "It's nice to have the attention off me, if I do say so myself."

The girls sat down and piled their plates with food, and they all burst out laughing when Sirius sat down next to Emily, threw his arm over her shoulder, and said "Hey, Em."

Sirius looked at them strangely, "What, did Gideon actually charm my clothes invisible?"

"Not yet," Gideon said darkly, sitting down next to Dorcas. "But, I will eventually." Dorcas raised an eyebrow at him.

"No, they're just being idiots. Just ignore them." Emily answered. "So, about James' party I think that we should have it after we get back from Hogsmead, it's the Saturday before his birthday and since Halloween is on a Monday this year I don't think we should have it then."

"That sounds good." Lily replied. "What should I do?"

"Okay then. The rest of us are going to get the party stuff ready, all we need you to do is keep James busy for a few hours after we get back from Hogsmead."

"Oh, I don't think she'll have a problem with that." Alice muttered, earning a glace from Lily.

"Now that that's settled." Dorcas said turning to Gideon, "Why are you going to charm Sirius' clothes invisible?"

Gideon glared at Sirius, "Oh, he knows." Then when Sirius wasn't looking he flung a spoonful of mashed potatoes at Sirius.

"Hey, mate, looks as if you missed your mouth." James said walking up with Peter. He sat across from Lily and immediately started piling food on his plate.

"Yeah, Sirius, you're mouth isn't between your eyes." Peter said giggling to himself.

"Shut up, Wormtail." Sirius said absently.

"Wow, hungry?" Marlie asked James.

"Starving. I'm worn out." He answered over a mouthful of food.

Marlie glanced over at Lily, "I bet." Everyone at the table snickered. "Ow, hey, what the hell?" She called when Lily smacked her upside the head.

"I invoked my powers as Head Girl to punish you for inappropriate comments at the dinner table."

"By hitting me?" Marlie said dryly.

"Only because I love you." Lily replied.

"Evans is into girls now?" Said a voice from behind her, Lily turned to see Regulus Black standing there, "That doesn't say much for you're, equipment, there does it Potter?"

"What do you want?" Sirius snarled.

"I've a letter from mum that I thought you might like to see." Regulus answered throwing the letter at Sirius and walking away.

Sirius skimmed the letter, and the longer he read the harder his lips pressed together. "Are you alright?" Emily asked.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, it's nothing I didn't expect really. Mum just wrote to Regulus to tell him that she changed her will and that the house goes to that little shit instead of me."

"Oh, er, okay." Emily responded looking around; no one else seemed to know how to respond either.

Sirius made a visible effort to change the subject, "So, what do you think is for desert?"

* * *

"Lily, come on." James whined from the Head Student's common room, "I want to get to Hogsmead sometime this century."

Lily stepped out of the bathroom rolling her eyes, "Who would've thought, James Potter's a whiner."

"I am not."

"Then what do you call what you were just doing?"

"I was expressing my justifiably, incredulous thoughts as to why it took you so long to get ready to go to Hogsmead."

Lily shook her head, "Whiner." She said, then dashed around James and out the portrait hole, James closely behind her.

"There's no running in the halls!" The portrait of Hufflepuff shouted, "You would think those two should know that, being the Head Students and all."

James caught Lily a two floors down, grabbed her waist, and turned her into him, "Caught you."

Lily looked up at him, laughter lighting her eyes, "You certainly did."

James leaned his head down to kiss her; Lily's hand had just wound its way into his hair when there was the sound of someone clearing their throat behind them. "Potter, Evan's this is a school, not your own personal bedroom." Professor McGonagall said tersely.

Lily blushed furiously, "Sorry, Professor."

McGonagall eyed them narrowly, "If I catch the two of you in the halls again I will take points off."

"Yes, ma'am." They both muttered.

As soon as she was out of ear shot both Lily and James burst into laughter. Lily sighed, grabbed James' hand, "You know this'll be our first date in Hogsmead."

"If we ever get there." James muttered.

Lily rolled her eyes at him again, "Stop being such a baby." James opened his mouth, but Lily stopped whatever he was going to say with a quick kiss, "Come on, let's go to Hogsmead."

A/N: Alright guys, review and let me know what you think….


	16. Chapter 15

rockstar-101: You are absolutely my favorite person alive. And I have to say thanks for pretty much the best compliment ever:-D

Untamed Loner: First, I want to say, recommendations? Cool! Second, I'm glad that you're enjoying my story… YAY!

* * *

_There is music in the midst of desolation  
And a glory that shines upon our tears.  
They went with songs to the battle, they were young,  
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.  
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,  
They fell with their faces to the foe.  
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;  
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.  
At the going down of the sun and in the morning  
We will remember them. - Laurence Robert Binyon_

_Every dragon gives birth to a St. George who slays it. – Kahlil Gibran _

**Chapter Fifteen**

James and Lily had just gotten by Mr. Filch when they heard their names being called. They turned to find Sirius running through the Entrance Hall. "You're not allowed in Hogsmead." Filch sneered.

"Thanks, I was aware of that actually." Sirius said. "Lily, I need to ask you something, er, privately." James looked at the pair of them curiously as they stepped away. "I need you to keep James in Hogsmead until five thirty."

"Sure," Lily replied, "shouldn't be a problem. I'll see you then."

"Wait, I, er, actually have to ask you something." Sirius said. Lily raised an eyebrow, "Er, what's Emily's favorite food?"

"Emily's favorite food?" Lily repeated. "Why?"

"I, er, sort of asked her on a date."

Lily grinned, "It's about bloody time."

It was Sirius' turn to raise his eyebrows, "Do you really want to go there?"

Lily snickered, shook her head, "No, I suppose not. Anyway," she said waving a hand, "Emily really likes roast beef and Yorkshire Pudding."

"Roast beef and Yorkshire Pudding; got it. Thanks. Have fun in Hogsmead." Sirius said before trotting back up the stairs.

Lily shook her head and walked back to James, and in doing so she caught a glimpse of Mordred Burke and Regulus Black in a heated argument. "Think we should break it up?" Lily asked inclining her head towards the two.

James looked over, "Nah, they deserve whatever they get. So, what did Sirius want to ask you that he couldn't ask me?"

Lily looked over her shoulder at the two arguing Slytherins before walking out the door with James. "Wow, it's cold." She muttered as soon as they stepped outside. "He wanted to know what Emily's favorite food was. Apparently he asked her out."

"Did he really now?" James asked with a devilish glint in his eye. "I wonder why he didn't tell me."

Lily looked over at James and giggled, "Yeah, I wonder why. You know that you'd take the mickey out of him for it."

James grinned down at her and threw his arm over her shoulder, "Yeah, and I'm still going to when we get back later. He's going to deserve it to, after all the shit he said to me about you. And _that_ went on for years." Lily giggled again. "Bloody wanker." James said affectionately.

Lily rested her head on James' shoulder, "So, what do you want to do first?"

"I dunno, want to head into Honeydukes?"

"Sure, I haven't been there in ages. Hey, you think that they'll be giving out free fudge?"

James shrugged, "Dunno, they usually do on Halloween, but it's still a couple of days before."

"I hope they are. Anyway, you want to head to the Three broomsticks after, we can warm up and such."

"Sounds like a plan. So, Lily."

Lily raised her eyebrow, "So, James."

James smiled, "Want to give me any hints as to what you got me for my birthday?"

Lily grinned up at him, "I was supposed to get you something?" She asked feigning surprise. James pinched her lightly, "Hey!" She giggled smacking him playfully.

"You know, Lily, despite what Slughorn said I never thought that you were a particularly cheeky person, but I've begun to change my mind since last year."

They walked into Honeydukes and took simultaneous, deep breaths. "I love the way it smells in here." Lily said.

"Me too, it reminds me of when I was little, my mum used to make candy and such so the house always used to smell like this. That's actually how she got me into cooking in the first place."

Lily looked over at him, "That's very sweet."

"Yeah, that's me, sweet."

Lily kissed him quickly, "You are."

An hour later, each carrying a bag bulging with sweets, Lily and James fought their way through the crowd of student to get to the street. "You know, I think the only thing that I don't like about Honeydukes is the fact that it's always just about filled to bursting."

James looked down at his watch, it was one thirty, "I'd be surprised if the Three Broomsticks isn't the same right now."

Lily glanced at her own watch, sighed, "Yeah. Do you want to go somewhere else before we head there then?"

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea; if we try to head into The Three Broomsticks right now we'll be lucky if we can move a pinky."

Lily laughed, started walking slowly towards the Shrieking Shack, "You know it's not nearly as interesting when you know that it's not really haunted." She said in a low voice.

"No, it's not, is it? Here," James said, "there's some other shops over this way. I think there's a coffee shop." He said walking a little off High Street.

"Really?" Lily said surprised. "I didn't know that. I don't think I've ever really come over here."

"I have, but I've never really gone into any of the shops. Sirius told me about the coffee shop."

"Madam Puddifoot's, of course. I don't know why I didn't realize it was over here."

James raised his eyebrow, "You know it then?"

"I've heard other girls talking about it." She replied.

They walked into the shop and, barely in the door, stopped dead. Lily blinked, looked at the frilly curtains on the windows, the equally frilly table cloths, the lurid pink walls, "Oh, my god."

"Can I help you?" A middle aged woman asked.

Lily and James looked at each other, "Er, no, thanks." James said in a choked voice. The woman gave them a stern look as they ducked out the door. The door had barely closed when they burst into laughter.

James clutched at his side, "Merlin, I can't breathe."

Lily leaned on James for support, wiped tears out of her eyes with a gloved hand, "Let's never do that again."

James grinned, "Definitely not." He agreed. "I say that we head down to The Three Broomsticks, it might be over crowded, but it's not…"

"Tacky." Lily laughed. "And," she giggled harder. Took a deep breath, tried again, "Bloody hell, it looks like my sisters room when she lived at home." James grinned, pulled Lily close and kissed her.

"LILY!" A voice squealed from behind them.

Both Lily and James turned, to see Emily sprinting towards them. Dorcas, Gideon, and Alice all rolled their eyes, but they were smiling. "Hey James, I need to borrow Lily for a second. I know you're on a date, but Lily, you have to come with me for a second." Emily said quickly, grabbing Lily's arm and dragging her a few meters away.

James walked slowly over to his friends, "Was that about her and Sirius?"

"Yeah, she's about as bad as Lily was with you." Dorcas said.

James raised his eyebrow interestedly, was about to ask a question, but was interrupted by Alice, "Please, nothing is that bad. Walking around with _that_ smile, singing in the bathroom; Merlin help us if Emily is that bad." She said laughing.

"Singing in the bathroom?" James asked, "I don't think I've ever heard Lily sing."

Dorcas and Alice looked at one another, "Count yourself lucky then." They giggled.

"Em, what's this all about?" Lily asked.

"Sirius asked me out." She sighed.

Lily grinned at her, "I knew you fancied him."

"We're going to do something tomorrow, since tonight's James' party." Emily said. "I can't wait to see what he's got planned."

Lily grinned again, "I think it might have something to do with having dinner with him."

"How do you know that?" Emily squealed again.

"Just before James and I left he asked me what your favorite food was."

Emily grinned, "I'm so excited; you have no idea." She raised her eyebrows, looked over to James, "Or maybe you do."

Lily hugged Emily tightly, "I'm so happy for you. You have to tell me exactly how it happened."

"Well, yeah. Tonight after the party, we'll have a whole big girl night."

"Perfect, and thanks to James I know where the kitchen is, so we can head down there later, and get whatever we want. Then tomorrow you have to tell me all about the date when you get back." Lily replied.

"Of course." Emily said grinning as they walked back to their friends.

"Ready now?" Alice asked.

"Yep. James here's your girlfriend back. Have a good time on the rest of your date." Emily said. Then turning to Gideon and Dorcas, "Alice and I'll meet you back here in an hour and a half so that we can switch."

Lily and James looked at each other, "Er, what?"

Gideon, Dorcas, Alice, and Emily all laughed at the looks on James and Lily's faces, "We're getting our Christmas shopping out of the way since you two didn't plan any other Hogsmead days before then." Gideon said.

"Plus, you know how Dorcas is with presents; we have to make sure she can't spy on anyone buying her presents."

Lily shook her head as Dorcas grinned sheepishly, "You're ridiculous." She laughed.

Dorcas shrugged, "I like presents." She responded. "Oh, that reminds me; have you two seen Remus and Peter."

James looked over to Lily, who shrugged at him. "We haven't seen them, why?"

Alice rolled her eyes again, "They're shopping for presents too, aren't they?"

Dorcas grinned, "Maybe."

Lily snickered, rolled her eyes, "Well, you have fun. We'll see you guys later."

"So, Dorcas is that person in your dorm." James asked.

"Yeah. Don't tell me, Sirius is the one in yours."

James grinned, "Surprisingly, no, it's Remus."

"Really?" Lily asked. "Huh, I wouldn't have thought it. Remus always seemed like the one who'd be able to hold out for presents." She shrugged, "It's bloody annoying, isn't it? I had to buy Dorcas' Christmas gifts, wrap them, and hide them two months early last year. Even then she found them a bit early. I ended up chasing her 'round the castle. Well, before I was stopped by McGonagall and Slughorn, anyway."

James grinned, "Yeah, I remember. That was the day that we officially became friends."

Lily smiled back, "Yeah. You know, I should get her something extra this year for that." She said absently.

They walked into the Three Broomsticks, which was packed with students, "Er, why don't you try and find a table and I'll get the drinks." James said looking around the crowded pub. "Butterbeer?"

"Yeah, thanks."

By the time James made his way over to her, Lily had stretched out in a quiet booth in the corner, "How'd you manage to get this table?"

Lily grinned, "I may have charmed a group of fourth year Ravenclaws. They all suddenly remembered that they had to do a big potions essay."

James chuckled, "I think that I'm a bad influence on you; charming people so that you can get a table. But, good thinking, no one will question a bunch of Ravenclaws going back early to finish homework."

Lily took a sip of her Butterbeer, "I really do love this stuff. And don't make fun of Ravenclaws; I'll have you know that the Sorting Hat seriously considered putting _me_ in Ravenclaw."

James raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

Lily shrugged, "Yeah, but it decided at the last minute that I belonged in Gryffindor instead; though if you ask Slughorn, I belong in Slytherin." She shook her head, "Yeah, only if I wanted to sleep with my eyes open every night."

James nodded in agreement, "I don't think that you would've done well in Slytherin, apart from the fact a good chunk of them hate Muggle-borns. You don't really have the qualities for Slytherin, well at least not predominately."

"Thanks." Lily said slowly, scrunching up her face. "I think."

"No, it was a compliment."

"Okay."

"No, think about it, you're cunning; look what you did to get a table here, and you're obviously ambitious, but you don't, I dunno, don't let it take over, I guess. And Slughorn thinks that pretty much all of the students he favors belong in his house, he likes to have them all close to him. I think that's why he came up with the Slug Club, because the Sorting Hat doesn't cooperate and put everyone he likes into Slytherin."

"You know, I never really thought about it, but that does make a lot of sense, actually."

"Yeah, every now and again I have a good idea."

Lily grinned, "Once in awhile." She agreed. James stuck his tongue out at her as she continued, "Did the Sorting Hat consider you for any of the other houses? I seem to remember it being over pretty quickly for you."

"It was. No, it pretty much sat on my head for a second before deciding to put me into Gryffindor. Both my parents were in Gryffindor, and nearly everyone on my dad's side of the family has been as well."

"That sort of thing seems to run in families, doesn't it?" Lily said.

"Usually." James agreed. "But not always, I mean, look at Sirius. Mostly everyone in his family's been in Slytherin, there's been a couple of Ravenclaws, like his cousin, Andromeda, but he was the first Black _ever_ to be put into Gryffindor."

Lily glanced over James shoulder and saw Regulus Black and Isolde Rosier sitting at a table sipping on their own Butterbeers, "It's weird how some people are so unlike the rest of their families."

"Yeah." James shook his head, "So, where do you want to go after this?"

"I dunno, maybe just look around some of the shops; see if I see anything for anyone for Christmas."

James shrugged, "Can we go to Zonko's?"

Lily smirked, "Yeah, we can go to Zonko's if you want."

"Cool, so, you almost ready?" James asked draining the rest of his Butterbeer.

Lily finished her own Butterbeer, stood up adjusted her cloak and pulled her scarf tightly around her. "Yeah, let's go."

James shoved his hands into his pockets as they stepped outside, "I knew it was going to be cold this year."

Lily rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah. You've latent seer powers that you can use to predict the weather. They'll come in handy if you ever want a spot on the muggle news."

James smiled, "Don't knock my…" He stopped short, looked down at Lily whose brow was furrowed, "Did you hear that?"

"It sounded like someone screaming." They had only taken a few steps towards the scream when they saw nine black clad figures; eight of them were masked, the ninth, the one in the center, turned their insides to ice. "Oh, my god." Lily whispered. "Voldemort."

James grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the alley beside The Three Broomsticks as a flash of green light and a cold laughter filled the air.

"Death Eaters! T-there are Death Eaters coming!" Yelled a short brown haired boy before he fell to the ground with a flash of green.

"Oh god! Run!" Shouted Gideon, grabbing Dorcas' hand and ducking under a flash of light. The command was hardly necessary; the teenagers who had been occupying the street were running in every direction.

"We've got to get back!" Called a blonde boy. "Someone one get professor!"

"Quick get inside, everyone hurry, get into a building!" Shouted Alice, running for the door to Honeydukes, followed closely by several shorter children.

"Avada Kedavra." Said the stocky figure in a black robe and mask, laughing slightly as Emily dropped in a flash of green light. "Filthy mudblood. Come out, come out little kiddies. There's no Dumbledore here to protect you now." He said to the now deserted street of Hogsmead.

In the alleyway between two buildings Lily and James were crouched down behind several trash cans. "Merlin, we've got to do something. They're going to start going into the stores, everyone'll be trapped in there." Whispered Lily.

James nodded gravely. "I think they've already killed…"

He broke off as the teens heard a loud crash from the mouth of the alley, they both tried to press themselves into the wall. "I know someone's in back here. If you come out it'll be quick I promise." Giggled a woman's voice. "If not, well, I suppose more fun for me then."

_Get Dumbledore_ mouthed James. Lily shook her head furiously, "I won't go back without you." She hissed.

James took a deep breath and waved his wand; a ghostly white stag erupted from the end. "Tell Dumbledore there's Death Eaters. Hurry!" He whispered.

"There you are. Crucio!" James plummeted to the ground and screamed.

Lily jumped up, wand raised, "Petrificus Totalus!" She yelled, the black clad figure suddenly froze and fell back. "James, James, are you alright?" She asked, helping him off the ground.

"Been better, let's go before they find us, Lily." He murmured. Both teens snuck behind the building and stopped for a moment. "You can still go back, go find a teacher."

Lily raised an eyebrow, "I am not leaving you here alone."

"Had to try."

"Yeah, any chance you'll go?" She asked. It was James's turn to raise an eyebrow, "Didn't think so. Okay, so what do we do?"

James closed his eyes and took a deep breath; there was more screaming coming from the street. "We're going to have to sneak around and try to take them by surprise."

Lily nodded, then taking a deep breath of her own pulled his head down to hers and pressed her lips roughly to his. "Just in case, er, you know." She said solemnly.

"Everything's going to be fine, I promise." His voice shook at the end, and they both knew he lied.

They both put their backs to the wall and crept along the side; James poked his head around the corner, "Alright, Lil, on the count of three. Just stop them however you can, all we have to do is hold them off until Dumbledore gets here. One, two, three!"

Both jumped out and shouted, "Stupefy!" at the same time. Two black robed figures fell to the ground. The other six turned, surprised, and began to send spells back.

It wasn't long before James and Lily had been separated, "Crucio!" Lily fell, screaming, to the ground.

"Stupefy!" Shouted Gideon, while the Dorcas helped Lily to her feet.

"Okay?" She asked.

"Fine, Gideon go help James, he's surrounded by four of them." Lily said desperately.

"On it."

"Lookie, lookie, what do I have here?" Said the woman who had cornered Lily and James in the alley. "It's the mudblood and her filthy half-blood friend." Then without giving the girls a chance to respond she waved her wand. The girls went flying through the air. Lily hit the brick wall to The Three Broomsticks, as she fought to keep conscious she saw Dorcas raise her wand to the Death Eater, and then nothing as the blackness overtook her.

She woke to the sound of a cold, high pitched laughter. "They're all down Potter, all your little friends. Dead most likely." Voldemort said dismissively. Lily glanced out of the corner of her eye and saw that both Gideon and Dorcas were lying on the ground, Dorcas in what looked horribly like a pool of blood. "I'll give you a choice: join me, or die like the reset of them."

"No, never." James said, defiantly raising his chin. "You'll have to kill me." Lily saw that he was bleeding profusely from a gash on his arm, and his nose looked to be broken.

"You had your chance, say hello to all of your little friends," Voldemort said. Lily raised her wand and had a wooden trash can floating slightly in the air, she used her wand to move it in front of James at the same time the Voldemort said, "Avada Kedavra." The trash can exploded and she saw James fall before passing out again.

* * *

"Lily, Merlin Lily, you've got to wake up. Please." James pleaded. Lily's eyes fluttered, "Oh thank Merlin. Wake up baby, come on."

"James!" Lily cried bolting upright and hugging him. "Uh, definitely should not have done that." She said closing her eyes and paling.

"Yeah, you've got a concussion. They didn't want to do anything until you were awake." James replied.

"Lovely." She muttered. Then her eyes widened in fear, "Oh god, Gideon, Dorcas? Are they alright? What about everyone else, is everyone okay?" Lily asked in a rush.

James looked into Lily's eyes, the tears he was fighting still managing to leak out. "Gideon and Dorcas are fine, but, Merlin Lily, Emily; they got her with Avada Kedavra."

"No." Lily moaned. "How bad? How many others?" Lily asked, tears already streaming down her face.

"It's bad Lil, at least six dead; I don't know how many hurt, a lot." He replied.

"I need, I need to see, James."

"Alright, here, I'll help you up."

The sight of the usually cheery Hogsmead stole her breath. The street was covered in glass and tinged horribly red, the buildings themselves had missing bricks, and large black craters in the walls. There were students crying in groups looking around helplessly. Teachers with bleak looks on their faces were leading students back up to the school.

In the middle of the street Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore spoke in hushed tones, both looking grave. "I think that's the last." Professor McGonagall said in a choked voice gesturing to the seven bodies that now lined the street.

Lily sobbed, there, in the middle was a once pretty girl with brown hair. "Emily." Her face broke and her knees buckled, "Oh, god. No, no, no."

James caught her before she hit the ground; he pressed her face to his neck as she sobbed, "I know, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." James murmured into her hair as he slowly lowered to sit on the ground. Both Dumbledore and McGonagall turned at the sound of their voices.

James watched as the bodies disappeared with a wave of Dumbledore's hand. McGonagall and Dumbledore walked to them, "Miss Evans, you need to drink this." McGonagall said gently, holding out a vial of purple liquid. "Miss Evans." McGonagall said again when Lily hadn't moved.

James held out his hand, "I'll take it professor." He said taking the vial. "Lily." James said pulling Lily away from him slightly. He brushed her hair out of her face, his hand resting at the back of her head, his eyes locked on her bloodshot ones, "Lil, you need to take this." Lily sniffed, ran a hand under her runny nose, and quickly drank the contents of the vial.

"Miss Evans, are you hurt any where?" McGonagall asked.

Lily's lower lip trembled violently, "My head." She mumbled through her tears.

McGonagall's eyes filled, but she held back the tears. "I know." She said softly, "That is to be expected."

"No, the back."

James narrowed his eyes, pulled his hand away from the back of Lily's head, "Professors!" James said worriedly held out his bloody hand.

McGonagall's eyes widened in shock as Dumbledore bent down to Lily. He gently moved Lily's hair out of the way to tap his wand softly where a deep cut was seeping blood. "Are you hurt anywhere else?" Lily didn't answer; she just stared blankly over Dumbledore's shoulder, at the place where the bodies had been. "Lily." Dumbledore said softly. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

Lily shook her head. "I hate him." Lily said in a tight voice, her face was hard as stone, "I hate him, and I swear to god, I don't care what I have to do, I'm going to stop him or I am going to die trying."

"Miss Evans," McGonagall started.

Lily interrupted her, "She was my friend." She cried, "My best friend. And she was killed because she didn't have the _right_ blood, because she was in the wrong spot at the wrong time, because for years people have been too afraid to stand up to him; people who've been too afraid that they're going to be next, so it's their fault as much as his. He may've killed Emily, but they stood by and let it happened. I'm not going to be one of those people, not anymore; I'm not going to stand by while Voldemort kills other innocent people, just to prove that he can, that he's powerful. "

Dumbledore's eyes went cold and flat, and James knew why Voldemort and the Death Eaters had fled when they found out Dumbledore was near. "Minerva, take them back to the castle. The students should be gathered in the Great Hall. I'll be there soon, try to calm them as much as you can until I get there."

McGonagall nodded, "Alright. Come on then." She said to Lily and James.

James stood, helped Lily to her feet, "Your arm? Your nose?" Lily asked as James wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I'll have a scar on my arm, but nothing big."

"Okay." Lily said in a hollow voice. "Professor, who else was," Her voice broke. Lily closed her eyes, swallowed, and her voice went hollow again, "Who else was killed."

McGonagall's lips tightened, "Michael Edwards," James shut his eyes remembering the fourth year boy from he'd seen in the common room recently. "Circe Toothill, Richard Cunningham, and Adam Dickinson from Hufflepuff." McGonagall continued, "Millicent McMillan from Ravenclaw, and Isolde Rosier from Slytherin."

McGonagall led them into the Great Hall where most of the school was already gathered. "It seems Dumbledore has already sent word to the school." She said to herself.

"Professor McGonagall!" Hagrid called across the Great Hall.

Professor McGonagall walked over to Hagrid as a shout of "LILY! JAMES!" came across the hall. Dorcas pushed herself through the other students, "Thank Merlin, you're alright, we didn't know. They've said people have died, and we thought…" She shook her head launched herself at James and Lily hugging them tightly. Alice and Marlie followed suit, as did the Remus, Gideon, Peter, and Sirius.

"Do you know where Emily is? We haven't seen her yet." Sirius asked looking around at the students still filing into the Great Hall.

Lily turned herself into James and began to sob again; James wrapped his arm around her again. Dorcas' eyes widened, as tears started to fall down her cheeks. Marlie began to shake violently. Gideon pulled her into his arms as she started to sob, his own eyes watering. Alice started murmuring, "Not again, not again." Over and over again. Peter looking incredibly frightened squeezed her arm in comfort.

Sirius shook his head, "No, Merlin, no. Tell me that she's just hurt, not that she's not. She can't be. Emily's only seventeen years old. We were supposed to go on our first date tomorrow night, I planned a dinner." Sirius said bleakly.

The girls cried harder, Remus, his face a picture of sorrow, looked at Sirius, "I'm so sorry, Padfoot." No one noticed it was the first time Remus had spoken to Sirius in nearly seven months.

"How many people?" Alice choked out. "There've been rumors of fifteen."

"Seven students: Mick Edwards, three Hufflepuffs, a Ravenclaw, and a Slytherin." James muttered, stroking Lily's hair. "I don't know how many villagers, if any."

"How could people do this?" Marlie asked.

"Voldemort's a sick bastard." Gideon said viciously.

The Great Hall was filled with people, students and teachers alike, looking around blankly, tears falling from their eyes, devastated looks on their faces. When Dumbledore walked into the room the only sounds that could be heard were the sobs of the students.

"Today is a dark day in Hogwarts history." Dumbledore said. "A day of extreme loss, extreme sorrow. Today Voldemort," there was a collective shudder at the name, "and his followers chose to attack the people of Hogsmead, the children of this school. Today we lost seven boys and girls for no other reason then they were there."

"There is nothing that I can say to ease the hurt, the grief for those of you who were there, for those of you who were not. I can offer the cold comfort that this will _not_ happen again; Voldemort will not lay a hand on another student in this school while I am the Headmaster."

"You all need to grieve, but remember you mustn't let yourselves be overcome with grief, seek comfort in others. The only true way Voldemort is going to be defeated is through unity not division; by people who are willing to stand for what is right, not by standing idly by. When you question what you should do, how you should act, remember those seven students who were lost today, the many more who nearly joined them, and let that help you to decide."

* * *

A/N: Okay, so, I've been dreading writing this chapter from the very beginning, and was sorely tempted to make all this happen later, but I've had when everything happens planned out from the beginning, but still, I was tempted. I've actually had this chapter written for a while, but while I was typing it up I found the story had other plans… plans that would not let me be until I finished writing them, which is why this chapter is up so quickly. Anyway, let me know what you think of it. 


	17. Chapter 16

A/N: I am so, unbelievably sorry about the humongous wait. Between school and work I haven't had time to do anything. I kept thinking that I was going to have time, and just never did. Again sooooo sorry. Hopefully, I'll be able to update once a month, then more once the summer comes, and school ends. Okay, now, I hope you like it, and as always let me know what you think.

* * *

_To be honest with you, I don't have the words to make you feel better, but I do have the arms to give you a hug, ears to listen to whatever you want to talk about, and I have a heart; a heart that's aching to see you smile again. - Unknown_

_No smile is more beautiful than the one that struggles through tears. - Margaret Fishback Powers_

**Chapter Sixteen**

"It's getting late; I think we should head back to the common room now." Remus said looking at his watch. "We haven't seen anyone out since ten anyway."

James glanced down at his own watch and shrugged, "You're right." He agreed. "Thanks for patrolling with me."

Remus shook his head, "Don't worry about it. How is Lily, I haven't seen her since Saturday."

James shook his head sadly, "I don't know, I'm worried though. She hasn't come out of her dorm in three days, and we can't go up there. Alice said she's only getting out of bed to go to the loo and she's not eating anything they're bringing up for her."

"This is hard on her." Remus said. "Bloody hell, it's hard on all of us, but especially on her."

James ran a hand over his face, "I know that, but this isn't healthy." He turned, kicked a wall, "And I can't even do anything to help her; I can't get to her. I've been thinking of getting my broom and flying through the window."

Remus considered, "That might work, do you know which room is theirs?"

"No, but I can have one of the girls lean out so I can find it."

There was the sound of someone clearing their throat softly from behind them. Both boys turned to see Dumbledore standing there. "Mr. Lupin, James."

"Hello, Professor, we didn't see you there." James said.

"No," Dumbledore said, "I wouldn't think so. Mr. Lupin, you're feeling better?"

"Yes, sir. The full moon was a week ago, so I'm better now."

"Good, now, Mr. Lupin, please head back to your common room, as it's not very far. I need to speak with James for a moment."

Remus looked at James, but nodded, "Alright. Goodnight, sir."

When Remus was out of earshot Dumbledore began, "You're injuries have healed."

James' eyes narrowed, "Yes, sir."

Dumbledore nodded, "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation about Lily."

James felt a flicker of anger at being overheard, "Sir, I know that boys aren't allowed up to the girls dormitories, but I think that there can be an exception made."

Dumbledore held up a hand to stop James' speech, "I'm not going to reprimand you because you want to comfort Lily."

"Oh." James said softly, "Er, sorry about that."

"It's no matter, but, James, while Lily _needs_ to grieve, as do you all, it is not good to let her isolate herself in her grief."

"But, sir, I can't help Lily, not if I can't even see her."

"There are always ways, James." James just stared at Dumbledore blankly for a minute. "Here we are now." Dumbledore continued, stopping at the portrait of the Fat Lady, "Let the other students know that there will be a memorial service on Saturday, if you would." The look on James' face had Dumbledore continuing, "People need to say goodbye. Saying goodbye is often the beginning of the end of grief."

"Yes, sir." James said, thinking of his father. "Fluxweed." James said to the Fat Lady and climbed through the portrait hole. _I wonder how I'm going to get to Lily. Dumbledore said that there's a way to get up there, now I just have to figure out how._ James thought.

James looked around the common room, found his friends and sat down next to them. "Hey." He said softly.

They all looked up at him, "Hey." Gideon replied.

"Where's Sirius?" James asked.

"Up in our dorm with a bottle of Fire whiskey, like he's been the last four days." Peter replied.

"God," Marlie said sadly, "I don't know whose worse off right now, Lily or Sirius."

Dorcas shook her head, "He doesn't do anything but sit up in his room and drink and all she does is lie there."

Alice sighed, pulled her knees to her chest, and wrapped her arms around her up drawn legs. "I don't know what to do for them." She rubbed her hands up and down her arms.

Marlie rested her head on Alice's shoulder, "Tell me about it."

"Merlin." James said angrily getting up again and stalking over to the girl's stairs. "I need to talk to Lily."

"James, there isn't any way for boys to get up those stairs." Marlie said getting up. "Maybe we'll be able to coax her down." She sighed, "Don't bet on it though."

Both Dorcas and Alice stood to follow Marlie, Alice rubbing her arms once again before heading up the stairs, "Merlin, I just can't get warm, I feel like I'm constantly freezing." She murmured to Dorcas who nodded in agreement.

James cocked his head at her, "Freezing." He muttered.

The girls stopped to look at him, "What about freezing?"

"What if I froze the stairs to keep it from turning into that slide thing?"

"You mean like petrifying them, or actually freeze them like with ice?"

"I was thinking of using ice," James cocked his head again, "Do you think petrifying them would work?"

Alice stopped, "I dunno." Her eyebrows drew together, "I think that in order to petrify something it has to be alive. Remus, do you know?" She called over to Remus.

Remus, Peter, and Gideon walked over, "I don't know, I don't think that it's ever come up before." Remus answered. "But, I think you're right Alice, it has to be alive." He looked over to Gideon.

Gideon just shrugged, "You're the Prefect."

"Right," James said, "so, petrifying the stairs is out then. What about having a layer of ice coating the stairs? That way I wouldn't be touching them."

Both girls shrugged, "I dunno, I don't think that I've heard of anyone trying it." Dorcas said. James looked at Alice, who just shook her head.

"If it doesn't work you can always try the broom thing that you were talking about earlier." Remus said.

"Okay, so, er, I guess you girls should go up first, just in case." When they got to the top James waved his wand and had water flowing from his wand and coating the stairs. He waved his wand again and had the water freezing. "So, here it goes then."

James took one step, then when nothing happened took another. Alice and Dorcas looked at each other, "Huh, who would have figured it'd be so easy."

James was nearly to the top when he slipped on the ice, his hand grabbed at the railing, "Bloody hell!" He cried as his chin smacked off the top stair. As he started to get up he heard the ice begin to crack as the stairs started to shift. "Fuck."

James scrambled up as both Dorcas and Alice stretched out their hands, "Hurry up!"

"I'm trying." James muttered darkly grasping their out stretched hands.

The girls managed to pull James up just as the ice slid down the stone stairs that now led up to the girl's dormitory. "So, ice not such a good idea then." Dorcas said.

James glared at her, wiped blood from his chin, "No shit. Listen do you think you guys could leave me alone with her for a bit?"

"Yeah, sure, it's the fourth door on the right. Just send Marlie down."

"Thanks." He replied starting towards the door.

"James," Alice said, then when he turned around, "She's really lucky to have you. And no matter what she says and does now, she loves you more than anything."

James nodded at her and continued down the hallway. He knocked lightly on the door before pushing it open, "Hey Marlie, do you think you could give me some time with her."

Marlie turned, surprised, "Holy hell, how did you get up here?"

"Blood and sweat." James muttered.

Marlie raised an eyebrow, "So I see." She said pointing to the blood on his chin. "I'll be downstairs."

"Thanks."

"Help her, okay." Marlie said seriously, "We haven't been able to reach her." James only nodded in response. "She's in that bed." She said pointing to one across the room.

When Marlie left the room James walked slowly over to Lily's bed, pushed the hangings out of the way, "Lily." He murmured sitting down next to her curled form.

Lily turned her head, blinked at James, and turned back, "Go away James, I want to be alone."

"No way." James replied putting a hand on her back.

Lily just curled tighter into herself and pulled the blanket up to her chin. "I don't want you here, I want to be alone."

"That's too bad then, because I'm here." Lily just shifted away from him. "Please don't do that Lily. You can't shut yourself away like this." He said lying down next to her. Lily didn't respond, so he just wrapped his arms around her. "I'm not going anywhere." Lily sniffed softly, but didn't say anything.

They lay together, not speaking for almost an hour before Lily shifted, turned to James. One look at her face had James' heart breaking; her eyes were red, swollen, with dark smudges beneath them.

"Why didn't you go when I told you to?" She asked softly.

"I told you, you can't shut yourself away like this. I love you Lily and I don't want to see you do this to yourself." James answered.

"How can you want to be around me, how can anyone? It's my fault that she's dead." Lily said sobbing.

Sincerely shocked James just stared at her for a second. "How can you think that? Lily, I was there too, you risked your life to try and help before Dumbledore got there."

"I told her that we would be safe here. At the end of last year she told me that she was worried about going home, and what our lives would have been like if we'd decided to never come to Hogwarts. _I_ told her that we were better off here than at home. If she hadn't listened to me maybe she wouldn't have come back this year, and then she'd still be alive."

"Merlin, Lily, it's not your fault. It was the truth what you said to her, you are safer here than you would have been at home. You, both of you, would still have been witches, but there would have been no way for you to protect yourselves."

"She's still dead though, six years of magic to help us protect ourselves, and she's still dead." Lily said hollowly.

"I know that Lily." James said softly, "But that doesn't make it your fault. It's Voldemort's fault, it's the fault of the death eater that killed her, but it's not your fault." Lily shrugged, and James could see her distancing herself from him again. "_I _picked the date." He said softly.

"What?"

"_I _picked the date." James repeated, "Does that make it my fault that all those people were killed."

Lily stared at him wide eyed, "No, you couldn't have known what was going to happen."

"Neither could you."

Unnoticed, tears leaked from her eyes, "I can't help feeling guilty."

James held her face in his hands, wiped the tears away with his thumbs, and kissed her forehead, "I do too, Lily."

She sniffled, "What about everything you just told me about it not being my fault?"

"I've been telling myself that since Saturday. But I can't help thinking that I picked the twenty-ninth because it was the last Saturday before my birthday. And I think that maybe if I'd picked a different day it wouldn't have happened." James sighed. "But I know better, intellectually anyway. Someone in school had to have told Voldemort when the Hogsmead trip was. How else would they have known when to attack the town?"

"I don't, I never…" Lily started with a furrowed brow. She took a deep breath, "I hadn't thought of that."

James kissed her gently, "It took me a while to think of it myself. Please don't shut me out again. I was worried sick about you, I couldn't see for myself how you were, all I had was what the girls were saying, and none of that was good." James babbled.

"I'm sorry that I worried you." Lily said softly, "I didn't mean too."

"I know, but I've been worried nonetheless."

Lily closed her eyes tightly, "I miss her so much it hurts."

"I know." James said pulling her tightly against him. "I do too. We all do."

"James, I don't know how to deal with this. I just … I can't …" Her breath shuttered out, "I keep looking over to her bed and expecting to see her there, but she's not there, she's never going to be there again."

James rubbed his hand over her hair, kissed her forehead again, "It gets easier."

"Does it?" Lily asked.

He shrugged, "Some." He replied. "I still think about my dad everyday, but it doesn't hurt as much as it did. It helps being here with all of you, with you in particular, Lily. I don't know what I would have done without you, especially those first few days. I just want to be able to do that for you."

Lily smiled slightly through the tears, "It's different with Emily though. Em was seventeen and should still be here, being giddy about her date, waiting for Christmas with the rest of us."

"My dad was different." James agreed, "I didn't expect it, because I didn't know that he was sick. He was old though, so it wasn't so, I dunno, so much of a shock I guess, because I knew that he'd had a good life." He sighed again. "In a way Emily is harder, I know that you were closer to her than the rest of us, and I couldn't imagine what I would be like if it had been Sirius, so I get that this is harder on you than on the rest of us, but shutting everyone out isn't the answer. We're going to need each other to get through this."

"Thank you." Lily murmured.

"For what?"

"For staying with me when I told you that I didn't want you. For being here now."

"I love you; you've helped me with what happened to my dad, so I'm going to be here, whenever you need me to help you with Emily."

"It shouldn't have happened." Lily whispered harshly.

"No it shouldn't have."

"I'm going to do more for Dumbledore and the Order." Lily said. "I have to, I don't think I could stand it if something else happened and I found out that I could have stopped it by doing something."

"Lily there's nothing you could have done to stop it this time." James said firmly.

"I've been thinking," Lily said as if she hadn't heard him, "we've just been telling Dumbledore about people who've been acting off, but I think we should really try to figure out whom, if anyone, are actually death eaters."

James opened his mouth to tell her that it wasn't her fault again, but stopped, "That's a good idea, to get more involved in the figuring out part, not just telling about people who're off lately. We're going to have to come up with good reasons though, so that it doesn't seem that we're just out to get people."

"So, you'll help me then?" Lily asked.

"Of course I'll help you." James said. "Why would you think that I wouldn't?"

"I did expect you too, but I wanted to make sure, I don't think that I could do this on my own."

"Oh, baby," James said softly, "I'll always be there for you, no matter what. I'd do anything, absolutely anything for you." Lily sniffed again then yawned. "I'll go, you need to get sleep."

"No!" Lily said, her voice full of panic, "Please don't go."

"Alright, I'll stay as long as you want."

"It's just," Lily wiped a hand roughly at the tears streaming down her face, "every time I close my eyes I see what happened. I see Dorcas in a pool of her own blood, you standing there with Voldemort bleeding, Emily, Mick, all the others, what Hogsmead looked like after," she said starting to get hysterical.

"Lily." James said sharply, bringing her out of her rant, "I'll stay with you for as long as you need me."

"Thank you." Lily said quietly, kissing James softly.

"You don't have to thank me, not for this." He replied.

"I'm grateful anyway."

James shifted, pulled Lily to him so that she rested her head on his shoulder. "Let's get some rest; it's been a long, shitty couple of days."

Lily rested her hand on his chest, breathed in the smell of him, and for the first time in days fell into a deep sleep where she wasn't chased by nightmares.

* * *

Lily woke slowly, feeling James trace light circles on her back, she sighed and snuggled closer into him. "How long have you been up?"

He shrugged, "A while."

"I know that you don't want me to thank you, but…"

"Then don't." James interrupted. "It insults both of us if you think that you need to apologize for something like this."

"Alright." Lily murmured. She stretched slightly, looked around to see the still sleeping forms of her roommates, "I think I'm going to take a shower." She said quietly not wanting to wake them.

"Do you want to go to our bathroom? That way you can have some more time? I'll summon my cloak so that way you won't run into anyone." He asked gently.

"I'm going to have to talk to them; I've been avoiding them for almost a week now."

"As they're sleeping I don't think they'll mind. Plus, I think they'll be happy just to see that you're out of bed."

"They've been very worried haven't they?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, they have." James said quietly.

"Come with me?" Lily asked.

"Alright." James agreed, grabbing his wand off Lily's nightstand. He waved it once, waited for a second, and then saw his invisibility cloak soaring towards him. "Right then." He said getting out of bed; he held his hand out to Lily, pulled her up.

"Whoa," Lily said swaying into James.

"Bloody hell," he said worriedly, "are you alright?"

"Yeah, I just got light headed there for a moment."

"That's what happens when you don't eat or get out of bed for five days, so I believe we'll be stopping by the kitchens on our way back here." James said hiding his anger and throwing the cloak over the two of them.

"The kitchens are completely out of our way." Lily protested.

"I don't care how far out of the way they are, Lily; you _are_ going to eat something." He said with more force than he had intended.

Lily turned her head to look at him as the started down the stairs, but before she could open her mouth to say anything the staircase began to change, "Oh, fuck me." She got out before she felt her feet slip out from under her, and the stone slide met her butt.

"Ouch." She said at the bottom of the stairs. She looked back to see James' legs halfway up the stairs, she got to her knees groped around and pulled the cloak off the rest of him.

He was lying face first at the bottom of the stairs, "I hate this bloody thing." He muttered darkly pushing himself up.

"You're bleeding!"

"What?" James swiped a hand under his chin looked at his blood stained hand, "Bugger it, not again." James said annoyed pushing himself to his feet, and helping Lily to hers. "You're alright though?" James asked as he put the cloak back over them. "It's a good thing no ones up yet, that would have been difficult to explain.

"I'm fine, what do you mean again?" Lily asked climbing out of the portrait hole.

"Huh? Oh, last night when I was trying to get up the stairs to your room I smacked my chin off the stairs and cut it."

"How did you get up the stairs anyway?"

"I covered them in ice then walked up."

"Really? It's that easy to get up?"

"Easy my ass." He grumbled. "I got about three quarters up the bloody thing when I slipped. I reached out for the railing and that's when I knocked my chin off the stairs and the whole thing started changing on me."

Lily turned slowly, "I'm sorry." She said solemnly, but there was the tiniest trace of humor in her eyes. She kissed his chin softly, "Better?"

James would have rapped his chin off the stairs a hundred times knowing that it had put that little spark of light in her eyes. "Yeah, it's better."

Lily ran her hand down the wall at the end of the corridor on the fifth floor and she and James walked in, "Chocoballs." She said to the portrait, and climbed through when it opened. She waited until the portrait had closed before speaking, "You're angry with me." She said.

"What?" James asked bewildered. "I'm not."

"You are. Before we fell down the stairs, when you were telling me that I was going to eat something, you were angry. I'm sorry that I made you stay all night, you ca-can-" Lily's voice hitched, "can go now if you want."

"Oh, Lily, I'm not, no, I want to stay." James said sincerely, "It wasn't that at all."

"Then why are you angry with me?"

"I'm not." Lily raised an eyebrow in disbelief, "I'm not, I was, am, worried about you. I was scared the way you almost fainted upstairs; and…"

"I've never fainted in my life." Lily said indignantly.

James nearly sang at the annoyance in her voice, "You damn near did before. You haven't eaten in five days and you scared the hell out of me before, _I'm_ sorry that I made you think I was angry with you."

Lily eyed him thoughtfully, "I guess I am a bit hungry."

"I would think so, if I were you I'd be starved right now."

Lily smiled softly, "I'm going to take a quick shower I'll be right out." She looked curiously behind her when James came into the bathroom as well.

"I'm going to take a bath, while you're in there. I need to bathe as well."

"Alright." Lily said slowly. She walked to the shower and turned on the water. She stepped into the spray and sighed in pleasure, through the glass wall she blurrily saw James stripping to get into his bath. Her pulse picked up and she quickly turned the temperature down in the shower.

Lily spent more time in the shower than she had planned, but decided that she felt better for it. She dried her hair with her wand before she bundled herself into a bathrobe and stepped out of the shower. She sucked in a breath when she saw James, dressed in his boxers and a t-shirt, "You scared me. Done already?"

"I've been done; you spent quite awhile in there."

"It felt good. I feel better than I have in the past little while."

"I'm glad." James said pulling her into a hug, "Very glad." Lily hugged him tightly enough to surprise him. "What's this?"

"You make me feel safe." She said simply. "Be with me."

He buried his face in her hair. His arms came tight around her, viced them together. "Lily."

"Just be with me." She skimmed her lips over his cheek, found his mouth, poured herself into him. Everything inside him opened for her, opened to her.

Mouth against mouth, he lifted her, cradling her there for a moment, as he would something precious, something rare. He carried her into the bedroom where the strong sun streamed through the glass. They would love in the light. He waved his wand at the couch and had it transfiguring into a bed. He laid her on the wide bed, centered her on the soft fabric, his hands were gentle when the touched her.

It was she who drew him down, held him close. Who sighed when he sighed. They would comfort each other now. Her lips met his, parted. The softest, sweetest of matings. Her hands stroked his back, along the hard ridge of muscle as his body fit to hers. She loved the weight of him, the lines and planes of him, the scent and the taste of him. When his lips roamed to her throat, she angled her head to them both more.

There was tenderness in long, lush kisses, in slow, sliding caresses. And warmth shimmering over skin, the under it until bones melted. He parted the robe, trailed lazy kisses down her flesh. Steeped in her, he traced fingertips over subtle curves, lingering when she sighed or she trembled. And watched with pleasure as color bloomed on her face.

"Darling Lily." His lips found hers again, rubbed gently. "So beautiful."

"I'm not beautiful."

She felt his lips curve against hers, "This isn't the time to argue with a guy." He closed a hand lightly over her breast, easing back to watch her. He flicked a thumb over her nipple, heard her breath catch. "Those eyes of yours, like emeralds. Fascinating how they see everything but what I do when I look at you."

He lowered his head to nibble at her mouth. "Soft lips. Irresistible. Stubborn chin, always ready for a challenge. I love this spot here." He whispered, trailing his lips down to the underside of her jaw. He ran his hand down the length of her. And when he cupped her, she was already hot, already wet. "Go up, slide over."

She was, helplessly, with a quiet moan that was both pleasure and surrender. He made her feel beautiful. Made her feel whole. She reached for him now, rolling with him in a kind of dance without heat or hurry. The sun splashed over them as the air went thick with sighs and murmurs. She touched and tasted and gave as he did, lost herself as he did.

When she rose to him, when he slid inside her, her vision blurred with tears.

"Don't." He pressed his cheek to hers. "Ah, don't"

"No." She framed his face, let the tears come. "It's so right. It's so perfect. Can't you see?" She lifted to him again. "Can't you feel?" She smiled even as the tears sparkled on her cheeks. She held his face in her hands as the moved together, took that silky glide.


	18. Chapter 17

_I felt nothing, nothing but fear; I could neither eat nor sleep - fear clawed at my mind and body and shook me. Anne Frank _

_The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value. I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death. Thomas Paine_

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen**

Lily was breathing rapidly and her heart was beating uncontrollably. She looked around, squinting through the darkness that surrounded her. She couldn't see anything, but she heard footsteps rapidly approaching her. She tried to quiet her breathing so whoever it was couldn't hear her and slowly backed away from the footsteps. She didn't know where she was, how she got there, or what was going on, but she _did_ know that if she were caught they would kill her.

Lily was so intent on moving as fast as she could without making a sound that she didn't notice that the footsteps had stopped. "Lumos." A harsh voice called.

Lily stopped dead, turned towards the voice, the coppery taste of fear filling her throat, and her eyes locked with the cold blue ones of a masked, hooded figure.

Panic filling her, Lily tuned and ran full-tilt towards a door the Death Eater's wand had illuminated. To her relief she found the door open and she barreled through it. The corridor beyond was just as dark as the previous room had been, so still running, Lily pulled her own wand out, lit it. _The hell with it_, she thought frantically, _they already know where I am_.

She ran to a door at the end of the hall only to find it locked, "No." She whimpered. She glanced back to see the Death Eater gaining on her. Lily backtracked, found another door and rushed through it, slamming it behind her. "Colloportus." She whispered.

The door rattled, but it didn't open. Sighing in relief Lily backed away from the door, never taking her eyes off it. After only a few steps Lily felt her feet slipping out from under her, her arms pin-wheeled, but to no avail, with a solid thump she fell to the floor. Lily scuttled back from the door when it rattled again. She felt her hand go into a puddle of something warm and sticky. Horrified, she pulled her hand up to look at it, and found it covered in blood.

Gagging Lily slowly looked behind her and screamed before she could stop herself. Behind her were the bloody bodies of a number of Hogwarts students, Dorcas among them.

Eyes blurring Lily ran for a second door and vomited violently the second she made it out of the room. Wiping the tears from her face with the back of her hand Lily turned trying to figure out her next move. She ran to the door on her left, which had a bright light coming from under it, _a way out_, she thought. Finding the door locked, Lily sobbed. _Alohomora_. Lily thought, finding her voice no longer worked.

To her immense relief it opened. _Thank God_. She ran through the door and felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. She had just run onto the streets of Hogsmead, looking just like they did the day that Emily had been killed. Lily moaned, covered her mouth wither her hands and backed back into the wall of The Three Broomsticks. There were still blackened craters in the bricks where curses had hit.

Lily felt herself hyperventilating, heard herself whimpering, but was helpless to stop it. Looking around for the best way to get back to Hogwarts, Lily heard it, the high-pitched laugh that could only mean the arrival of one person, Voldemort. She looked around wildly, but didn't see anyone. She spotted the alley where she and James had hid the day the Hogsmead attacks and ran to it, hiding herself behind the trashcans once again. She had barely hidden herself from view of the mouth of the alley when she heard a soft scraping.

Fighting the urge to whimper once again Lily bit down on her lip, and peered around the trashcans. Unable to keep herself from sobbing, let out a hollow moan, "No." Emily was moving slowly and stiffly towards her. Her skin was waxy, her eyes were a filmy white, and a small trickle of blood was coming from her nose. As soon as the moan had left Lily's lips Emily stopped and sharply looked in her direction, her filmy eyes locking onto Lily.

"No," Lily moaned again, "no, no, no, no." She stood up, even as Emily continued to move towards her. "Em, it's me, it's Lily." Emily's cold hand reached out for Lily, locking around her throat. Coughing as the hand tightened, Lily tried to knock Emily's arm away, but to no avail, kicking out Lily's foot connected with Emily's shin, and with a sickening crack Lily heard the bone snap. Emily loosened her hold on Lily's throat and staggered backwards several steps.

Coughing and rubbing her throat Lily saw, to her horror, that Emily was still standing, though the bone in her leg was now sticking out he back of her calf. "Please, Em, please don't do this." But Emily kept moving towards her. Tears streaming down her face, Lily looked at Emily, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Incendio." She whispered. A stream of flame flew from her wand; Emily hissed loudly and backed away.

"That's enough, go back." Lily head a cold voice say. "Very impressive," the voice continued silkily, "for a mudblood."

Lily's eyes widened, as she glanced around for any possible way out of her current situation. Finding none, Lily pressed her lips together as her eyes filled with tears, and lifted her chin.

Voldemort laughed cruelly, "Bravery, I've always found it an interesting trait." He said running a finger down her cheek, laughing again when she shuttered. "Lily."

"Don't touch me." Lily said vehemently, finding she felt braver now that she knew what was going to happen.

"Lily." He said again. She blinked when he said her name a third time, this time grabbing her arms and shaking her.

Completely forgetting that she had a wand, that she could do magic, she flung her arms out trying to beat him off.

"Lily, stop it." She heard someone say; dimly she realized that it wasn't Voldemort's voice. Whimpering she swung her arm out as hard she could, "Bloody, buggering hell. Wake up, Lily!"

Still whimpering, Lily opened her eyes, nonplussed she realized that she was in bed, with James and not on the streets of Hogsmead with Voldemort. She burst into tears and launched herself into his arms.

Stroking her hair James murmured softly to her. "It's okay, you're okay. Nothing's going to happen to you."

"He was there, and D-D-Dorcas. And the b-b-blood, s-so m-much of it. Everyw-where. And E-E-E-Emily." Lily replied all in one breath.

"Dorcas is fine, Lily. There's no blood, we're the only people in here there's no one else."

"They were g-g-going to k-kill me, j-just l-l-l-like they k-k-killed all the others. A-And he laughed."

"Baby. It was a nightmare." James said softly, pulling Lily into his lap and rocking her, "You're in Hogwarts, you're safe, there's no one that can hurt you while you're in the castle."

Lily buried herself in James' shoulder, "Don't go."

"No, of course not." James said. "I'll stay here as long as you want me."

"Thanks." Lily responded, taking a deep breath.

"Besides," James said after a moment, "it's my room, there's no where for me to go." Lily just gave a weak laugh in response.

"It must have been the memorial service." Lily said softly after a long while.

"What?" James asked.

"What triggered the nightmare; it must have been the memorial service." Lily said.

Taking Lily's face in his hands James looked into her eyes, "Are you alright? You still look a bit peaked."

"Yeah, I'm okay. I've been better, but I'm okay." Lily replied taking a deep breath.

"Do you think you'll be able to go back to sleep?"

Lily looked at him, and knowing that if she told him no, he would stay up with her, said, "Yeah, I'm just going to get a drink of water first."

"Do you want me to get it for you?"

"No, no that's fine I'll get it." She said getting out of bed. Silently cursing herself for not taking the dreamless sleeping draught that she had made; she grabbed her wand off the bedside table and summoned it. Catching the flagon that came zooming through the window Lily looked behind her to make sure James didn't see, poured some into one of the glasses by the water pitcher, and banished the potion back to her room. Lily stared out into the darkness for a moment before quickly swallowing the potion, "Evanesco." She said, before anyone could see remnants of the purple potion

Quickly feeling the effects of the draught Lily made her way back to James' bed and snuggled into James, "Goodnight, Lily." James said, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"'Night, James." Lily slurred and promptly fell asleep in his arms.

When Lily woke she saw light filtering through the hangings on James' bed, but James himself was nowhere to be seen, there was however a small piece a parchment lying next to her.

_Lily,_

_Dumbledore wanted to see us, but since you were still sleeping, I'll tell him that you weren't up to it. If you get up before I get back meet me in the Great Hall for breakfast._

_James_

Sighing Lily rubbed a hand over her face. "Bugger it," she mumbled, "I don't want food." Though she knew if she didn't eat she would have to deal with James again, she pushed herself out of bed and towards the door, and in doing so nearly walked straight into Sirius.

Sirius looked distinctly worse for the wear, his hair was lank around his face, he desperately needed to shave, his eyes were dull, blood shot, and shadowed. "Lily." He slurred.

Lily blinked, "Sirius? You look awful."

"Thanks." Sirius said sarcastically.

"Have you been drinking this whole week?"

"What is it to you if I have?"

"Sirius, you can't, you have to deal with it."

"You should talk."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You bloody well know what it's supposed to mean."

"I do not."

"You want me to deal with it? Why don't you take your own advice?"

"I am dealing with it."

"Please," Sirius said harshly, "you are not. Drinking your potion so you don't have to think about it. When have _you _dealt with it?" Lily looked stricken, "Didn't think that anyone knew about that did you?"

"You weren't there; you don't _know_ what it was like." Lily said quietly, tears filling her eyes.

"I can imagine." Sirius said dully.

"No, you can't." Lily retorted going toe to toe with Sirius and flushing with anger. "You cannot imagine what it was like. Hearing people scream, knowing they're dying, fighting for your life, being tortured, watching people you care about being tortured. Voldemort. That's what I see when I close my eyes, every time I close my eyes. That day, people dying, Voldemort tying to kill me. And Emily as an inferius trying to kill me as well. So, you think you can imagine that?" She hissed her hands shaking with anger.

Sirius, pale with fury, opened his mouth to respond, but James walked in, "Hey, Lil, are you awake?" He blinked when he saw Sirius and Lily standing toe to toe and both shaking with anger. "What's going on?"

Glaring at Lily Sirius said, "Nothing." And he stalked into the bathroom.

"What was that all about?" James asked.

Trying to brush it off Lily shrugged, "I've got to shower before breakfast as well." And she stalked off as well, leaving James behind, very confused.

Looking from Lily's direction to Sirius' James sighed heavily and deciding that Sirius needed him more at the moment, walked to the bathroom to talk to his best friend. "Sirius?" James called.

"I'm busy, Prongs."

"I was well aware of that. But, I- we need to talk."

"What about?"

"You know what we need to talk about, Padfoot." James said. "You've been drunk for damn near a week straight, I think it's time that you…" James broke off in surprise when Sirius, clad only in his pajama bottoms, stepped out from behind the partition that separated the bathroom from the shower, with his wand raised.

"If you tell me that I need to deal with Emily's death, I swear I will jinx you."

"Merlin's Beard, what the hell is wrong with you?" James asked raising his own wand. "Since when have you ever wanted to curse me because I've spoken my mind?"

"I'm dealing with it in my own way, just because my way doesn't fit with everyone else's way doesn't mean that I'm not dealing with it." Sirius replied.

"You're not dealing with it, that's the point. Being off your face for a week straight is not what I call dealing with anything."

"Maybe you should take some of your advice to your girlfriend."

"What are you on about?"

"Forget about it, it doesn't matter." Sirius said.

"Padfoot, what were you and Lily talking about before I came in here?" James asked suddenly, a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Nothing Prongs, it's not important." Sirius mumbled turning his head, and doing so caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. "Bloody hell, I look like dragon shit, she wasn't kidding."

"You and Lily were fighting because she said that you looked like dragon shit?" James asked confused. _That's definitely not where I thought that was going._

"What, no." Sirius replied rubbing a hand roughly over his face. "Prongs I need to shower. I really think that you should talk to Lily though, she's not as fine as she wants everyone to think."

"What do you mean? What's the matter with Lily?"

"She's just, I dunno, not dealing with anything that happened in Hogsmead."

James raised an eyebrow, "You thought you'd give Lily advice about dealing with grief? No wonder she was pissed, _you've_ been shit faced drunk since Saturday."

Angry blotches of red appeared on Sirius' face, "I didn't give her any advice about dealing with anything, _I'm_ not the hypocrite. But maybe you should to a certain purple potion your girlfriend is drinking to get her through the nights."

"Where would Lily get a dreamless sleep draught?" James asked, but he already new the answer; Lily was the best in their year in potions.

Sirius raised his eyebrows, "Get? I was under the impression that she was the potion prodigy of Hogwarts." He sneered before closing the curtain that separated the shower from the rest of the bathroom and turned the water on.

James rubbed his own face, turned to the mirror, "I'm eighteen years old, I don't know how to deal with this." He whispered.

Sighing he walked out of his room and down the stairs to the common room to wait for Lily. Sitting on one of the chairs by the fireplace he watched his fellow Gryffindors, even in the week that had passed he hadn't realized the change in his classmates. There was little talking in the common room and no laughing, people had terrified looks in their eyes and kept nervously darting around.

He got up when he saw Dorcas, Marlie, and Alice waking down the stairs, "Hey."

They walked over to him, "Hi, James. Is Sirius doing any better?" Alice asked.

"Not really, I just left him looking as bad as I've ever seen him. But on the plus side at least he's not as plowed as he has been for the passed couple of days."

"Oh." Marlie said sadly. "I guess it's too much to ask for both Sirius and Lily to have gotten better." A dark look passed over James' face. "What?" Marlie asked.

"Is she still up in your dorm?" James asked.

"No, she already went down to breakfast." Dorcas answered. "She seemed to be in a mood too." Both Alice and Marlie gave her looks. "What, she was and the both of you know it too."

"She's grieving." Alice said darkly.

"We're all grieving; she's not the only one who nearly died not the only one who lost someone." Dorcas answered.

"Er, guys," James said, "I'm going down I've got to talk to Lily."

James walked slowly down to The Great Hall trying to think of what he wanted to say to Lily. He walked into The Great Hall looked around, quickly spotted Lily's dark red hair and watched her playing with her food for a second before he sat down next to her. "Hey."

Lily gasped, dropped her fork, and jumped. Putting a hand to her heart she turned to James, "You scared me."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." James looked down at her plate, "Not hungry?"

Lily felt the anger welling up in her belly and barely resisting the urge to scream she hastily spooned some porridge into her mouth. Swallowing Lily smiled nastily at James.

James raised his eyebrow, "That wasn't an order."

"Wasn't it?"

"Come on Lily, we need to talk." James said pulling Lily up by the arm and walking with her out of the hall.

"What do you want James? Haven't I been eating enough, not sleeping enough?"

"Merlin, Lily, what's with you?" James asked annoyed. "What have I done between you waking up this morning and now to have you so pissed at me?" Lily looked up at James her eyes narrowed, opened her mouth as if to say something, then, to James' horror, burst into tears. James gaped at her for a moment before pulling her into his arms. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to upset you." He said rubbing her back. Lily only sobbed louder.

James, deciding that Lily wouldn't want to be caught hysterically crying by anyone picked her up and walked through a door that pretended to be a part of the wall and hid a passage that would take them to the fifth floor, and the Head Students room. James placed his hand on the wall to open the passage up and walked slowly down the corridor, "Chocoballs." He said softy to the portrait of the founders, which swung open immediately. He sat down on the couch, Lily, still sobbing, on his lap. James, who didn't know what to do just kept rubbing her back and murmuring softly to her.

"I'm so sorry." She muttered after a while.

"You don't have to be sorry." James replied.

"I do." Lily said, her eyes tearing up again. "You've been so good to me and I've been nothing but a b-b-bitch to you. It's just that I, I dunno, one minute I think that I'm doing better, but the next everything just kind of swarms me."

"Lily, I understand." James said. Lily just looked at him blankly. "I do. I know that Emily wasn't my best mate, but she was my friend, someone I've known and gone to classes with and ate with for six years. And Mick was on the Quidditch team for the passed two years. And Merlin Lily, I saw as you and Dorcas went flying through the air, I saw Gideon fall too, I thought you were all dead Lil. And I stood there, faced Him, and thought that I was going to die too. So I do know what you're going through."

Lily rubbed her hand on James cheek, "I know, it's just…" She got up paced around the room, blew out a breath, "When people are around I just want to be alone, but when I'm alone all I want is to be around people."

"Well," James said, "I'm here whether or not you want me." Lily stared at him for a minute. "What?" He asked.

"How did I ever think that were a toerag?" She replied. "I don't know how I ever made it through a day without you."

James felt his face burn as he stood up, "You don't need me to get through the day, even tough ones. You never did. You're one of the strongest people I've ever known." He said as he rubbed her arms.

Lily smiled up at him through tear-filled eyes, "Maybe not," she murmured, "but you make it a hell of a lot easier."

Smiling James kissed her forehead, "Lily I have to ask you something."

"What?"

"Earlier when I talked to Sirius he said something about you taking a dreamless sleep draught to get through the night."

Lily sighed, "Sirius needs to learn to keep his big mouth shut." She muttered.

"Lily." James said reproachfully.

"Okay, yes, I've been taking the potion when I go to sleep. But, god, James I have nightmares every time I fall asleep without taking it. I can't function like that."

"Lily, you can't take it every night, it's not good for you, doesn't it act as a poison if you take too much too often?"

"Almost everything acts as a poison if you take it long term James."

"Including dreamless sleep draughts."

"Alright, yes, including dreamless sleep draughts. I'm only taking just enough to put me to sleep, not even the whole dose. And it's not as if I plan to take it forever."

"I can't lose you too." James said hoarsely.

"What?" Lily asked shocked.

"Lily I've already lost my dad and two of my friends in less than six months. I already thought that you were dead, but now that I know that you're okay, I can't lose you. You've become one of my best friends, and you're the love of my life."

"Oh." Lily said almost too softly to hear. "James, I love you so much. I don't want to lose you either."

"You helped me through my dad's death, you still are really. Why don't we help each other through this?"

"How? How do we get over this?"

"I don't think that we do. We learn to live with it, but we're never going to get over it, not really." James answered. "Will you stop taking the potion?"

"James, every time that I close my eyes I see that day, I imagine terrible things. I don't know how to block it out any other way."

"I don't know Lily, maybe the nightmares are a way of dealing with everything that's happened. Why don't we talk to Madam Pomfrey; she might know something to help."

"Okay." Lily replied.

James held out a hand and they climbed out of the portrait hole together, "We're going to get through this." He said when they reached the corridor.

Lily looked up at him, her heart gave a pleasant thump, "I know."

* * *

A/N: Hey guys sorry that it took me so long to update, I apparently suck at being able to tell when I'll be able to update next. Now, having said that I'll say that I'll put the next chapter up as soon as I can. I don't know how many of you have finished Deathly Hallows yet, but if you have, you know that this story is slightly AU now. I though about changing some things to make it fit, but I decided that I'll just go with what I had originally planned. Anyway, enjoy and review away. Oh, as a side note, how good was Deathly Hallows? I know there were a lot of people who were disappointed, but I loved it, I really think it's my favorite. 


End file.
